Los Angeles Galaxy Sweating Out Mark Geiger’s Officiating Against Seattle

Oct 19, 2014; Carson, CA, USA; Fans hold up Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Landon Donovan #10 during first half action against the Seattle Sounders FC at StubHub Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

Bruce Arena’s Los Angeles Galaxy will be hoping for decent officiating from match referee Mark Geiger on Saturday afternoon against Sigi Schmid’s Seattle Sounders at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Wash. (kickoff: 11:30 a.m. PT/2:30 p.m. ET, NBC) Omar Gonzalez will be suspended for this contest due to a red card he received against Seattle last weekend at StubHub Center. When asked about the red card on Wednesday, he did not pull any punches.

“I had a few days to think about it and look at the play again and from my standpoint, it wasn’t a yellow,” Gonzalez told LAGalaxy.com’s Adam Serrano. “I think that I went to the ground because I thought that I was going to win the ball and I did get the ball first. He continued running and then tripped over me.

“Would I make that play again? Considering how late it was, I would take another look at it, but I wanted to win the game. If that means making a tackle and starting a counter then so be it. I think the referee made a mistake. I think that he made a lot of mistakes in the game. If players have to be held accountable and be fined and suspended then I think that referees should be held accountable for mistakes that they make in a game.

“It’s not just our team, but Michael Bradley has spoken out and plenty of other players want to speak out but they’re afraid of getting fined. At some point, the referee’s ego has to be thrown out the window and they have to be held accountable. We’re always trying to make the football better and we have to make the refereeing better.”

Defender Robbie Rogers had similar words regarding Ismail Elfath’s handling of the match last Sunday. The Galaxy drew 2-2 with Seattle.

“The inconsistency of reffing is what makes me mad. Then there was the foul [by Obafemi Martins] on [A.J. DeLaGarza in the 57th minute], if you’re going to call that call all of them, you can’t just pick and choose,” Rogers said. “As a defender, there are certain games where you can be more aggressive and when you have refs like this then you just don’t know. I mean my first tackle of the game was a yellow card.

“There’s no soccer knowledge with these guys. They’re too emotional. I saw the referee get involved in an alternation with Dempsey and I thought ‘this is your job, you have to be professional.’ I hate to be this harsh, but if I had a bad game then people would be the same.”

“We’ll see what kind of job that he does,” said Arena of Geiger officiating the contest. “They claimed the last referee has had a very good year in the league, but it looked like the game was too big for him.”

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However, the Galaxy have had a strong reputation of earning solid results at CenturyLink Field. Captain Robbie Keane is confident that Saturday will be more of the same.

“The lads can do it, there’s no question about that. There’s just a feeling around [this] place, a relaxed feeling. I think we’re good when we need to win games, I think we’re better,” Keane told Serrano. “We play better when we’re relaxed going into a game.”

Defender A.J. DeLaGarza signed a multi-year contract extension, meaning that he will be with the Galaxy for the long haul.

“This was a pretty quick process,” DeLaGarza told LAGalaxy.com’s Larry Morgan. “I didn’t think about it too much … I had a lot of other stuff to worry about this year. This wasn’t something that was on my mind, but when it came up we got it done pretty quickly. There’s no other place I’d rather be.”

“[DeLaGarza]’s a guy that’s been tirelessly working hard and doing great things for this club,” said Gonzalez. “Maybe he hasn’t gotten a lot of notoriety, but he’s a guy that we look to always be on the field and make impacts on games, and he always does.

“He’s a guy that we want around for a long time to come. He’s just one of the best locker room guys to have around. I’m happy to be with him for another three, four years.”

Meanwhile, the Galaxy and AEG announced on Thursday that the club will be investing over $15 million dollars to improve the facilities and the fan experience at StubHub Center. The largest LED video board in the league will be installed, and dedicatred locker rooms and training facilities for LA Galaxy II and the LA Galaxy Academy will also be put into place.

“These additional resources and investments speak to Mr. Anschutz’s and AEG’s continued commitment to the Galaxy, our first team, our facility, our player development program, and our fans” said Chris Klein, President of the LA Galaxy. “These innovations place the Galaxy at the forefront of player development and fan experience.

“The commitment to our fans includes a 14% average decrease in 2015 Season Ticket prices. This well-rounded investment maintains the LA Galaxy’s status as the best club in North America, on and off the field.”