The New England Revolution had a lot going against them during Saturday night’s 2-1 loss at the New York Red Bulls.
The visitors were without suspended star Carles Gil (yellow card), they were down a man through most of the second half due to Latif Blessing’s 60th-minute red card and, according to Bruce Arena, they were hard done by the officiating.
Specifically, their head coach/sporting director took issue with referee Rubiel Vazquez overturning Andrew Farrell’s long-range equalizer in the 93rd minute after Video Review.
“The ball was deflected by a Red Bull player, so the goal should’ve been good,” Arena said post-game, disputing Vazquez’s official explanation that a clearly-offside Giacomo Vrioni interfered with RBNY goalkeeper Carlos Coronel’s field of vision, thus impeding him from seeing Farrell’s shot.
“That’s my opinion of it. They said Vrioni was interfering with the goalkeeper. I think with the Red Bull player deflecting the ball, the goal should be allowed.”
Yet it wasn't and the Revs suffered their first loss since late May, ending a fruitful 3W-0L-4D run that had them within striking distance of Supporters’ Shield-leading FC Cincinnati.
Saturday’s refereeing controversy was nothing new for Arena, who’s criticized other “phony baloney” decisions this season.
“That’s the third time this year we’ve had a goal taken away on a [Video Review] interpretation,” Arena noted.
MLS’s all-time winningest manager was already none too pleased after Blessing saw a straight red with half an hour to play for a studs-up challenge on Frankie Amaya, the man responsible for the opening goal at Red Bull Arena just two minutes prior.
“Latif’s red was pretty soft,” Arena insisted. “Obviously when you see the game that referee had, then nothing should surprise you.”
Brandon Bye, who scored New England’s equalizer on a 76th-minute header, was much more succinct when asked about Blessing’s sending-off.
“Soft,” was the 27-year-old fullback's one-word answer.
Bye was one of the bright spots for the Revs, who clearly missed recent MLS All-Star addition Gil. The Spaniard, who’s got 7g/9a and is arguably playing at the level that earned him 2021 Landon Donovan MLS MVP honors, was unavailable due to yellow card accumulation.
“Your team’s better when your best player’s on the field, in any sport,” Arena conceded.
Despite the Revs’ best efforts, the Red Bulls ultimately took full advantage of the extra man on the field and secured all three points thanks to Wiki Carmona’s 85th-minute deflected decider.
For Bye, there’s little time to sulk over Matchday 24's bitter result.
“We have to bounce back,” Bye said, already looking ahead to Wednesday’s home clash against Atlanta United (7:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass). “There’s three points to play for on Wednesday.”
