After Justen Glad’s chicken wing cost Real Salt Lake the Rocky Mountain Cup, his coach had a bone to pick with the referee.
“The decision there at the end completely clouds what this game is all about,” RSL coach Pablo Mastroeni said, ”what a derby is all about.”
With the ball flying into the penalty box late in Saturday night at Colorado, Glad, Salt Lake’s All-Star defender began to jump and turn and in doing so extended his left elbow even as he tucked his forearm against his chest. The ball hit Glad’s elbow and his was whistled for a handball that gave the Rapids an 88th-minute penalty that would prove to be the winning goal in a 3-2 rivalry match.
“The more I watch soccer, the more I’m confused about what is a natural position when you’re getting ready to jump,” Mastroeni said.
By rule, a penalty should be called when the ball hits a hand or arm that has made a player’s body “unnaturally bigger.” But the rule also allows for judgment about whether the hand or arm’s position is “consequence of, or justifiable by, the player’s body movement for that specific situation.”
“It’s insane for a game like this to be determined by a subjective call,” Mastroeni said after the match.
The RSL coach also took issue with the disparity in penalties Colorado has received this season. The Rapids have been awarded 12 penalties this season, the most in Major League Soccer. Only three penalties have gone against them.
RSL, meanwhile, is on the wrong end of a 4-2 margin this year.
“It’s not complaint hour, it’s the facts,” Mastroeni said. “There’s something interesting behind that disparity. Because handballs could be called on every single play.”
He added: “If the player doesn’t know anything about it, I think that’s the frustration. The fact that I’m talking about this takes away from the effort, takes away from the performance of our guys in a game that should be decided by the guys on the field.”
At the break
Salt Lake now sits in third place in the Western Conference, five points behind the first-place L.A. Galaxy.
For now, though, the club will focus its attention on the Leagues Cup — with a game against Liga MX’s Atlas on Aug. 1 and another against the Houston Dynamo on Aug. 5.
“Heading into Leagues Cup, we want to get everyone healthy,” Mastroeni said. “To have the whole group healthy and ready to go will be important as we … hopefully make a run in this tournament.”
The Moon and the stars
Midfielder Diego Luna was a late addition to this year’s MLS All-Star squad. And Mastroeni hopes the experience this week sets him up for the rest of the campaign.
“Being around this group hopefully motivates him,” the coach said. “You get to see some of the elite guys you look up to, some of the guys that are producing like Diego’s producing. It’s almost contagious when you go to those things. And you come back, you’re 6 inches taller and you’re stronger and you have a bit of confidence in your game. Hopefully that inspires him and Glad to bring some of that All-Star power to our group as we embrace on Leagues Cup.
New attacker debuts
After being signed earlier in the week, 26-year-old Benji Michel made his RSL debut on Saturday.
Michel, who scored 19 goals during three seasons with Orlando FC (2019-2022), comes to Salt Lake from Portugal’s Arouca.