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Hello, everyone.
Today’s Hoddle is an unexpectedly MLS heavy one, but I think it’s an enjoyable one.
Ramble of the Day
One of the more newsworthy items out of last weekend’s MLS action was Real Salt Lake coach Mike Petke’s rant about the refereeing in his team’s loss to Minnesota United. It was a rant with an expletive and some more, and it resulted in a $10,000 fine and a two-match suspension. His rant even Sky Sports because, quite frankly, there is nothing quite like hearing a man with a thick Long Island accent accuse VARs of watching The Simpsons instead of doing their jobs.
Someone started a GoFundMe to pay the fine, but they have yet to raise the funds. Then again, Petke seems to be okay with paying the fine after asking MLS to “drain my bank account.”
The best part is that Petke has done this before, and it was more epic the first time. Around the same time a year ago, the manager came to a press conference after a 1-1 draw with Sporting Kansas City. That time, he made sure reporters had their recorders on and asked a club employee to print out screenshots of fouls that he believed were not punished appropriately for everyone in the room.
— Real Salt Lake (@RealSaltLake) July 23, 2017
Petke’s first rant was just as much of a sensation around the league as the second was. The man he asked to get his printouts, Vice President of Broadcast & PR Trey Fitz-Gerald, had the MLS nerd version of 15 minutes of fame, while the “Trey, hand ‘em out” line took on a bit of a life of its own. A group of RSL fans even created a t-shirt with the iconic line on them.
He wore it to tee! @JohnStrong 'Trey, hand 'em out!' pic.twitter.com/NFNQpdNWHH
— Nick Krupke (@NickKrupke) August 24, 2017
Oh, to be at a Mike Petke press conference.
tl;dr: Meet Mike Petke, referee ranter extraordinaire.
Links of the Day
Alexis Sánchez has secured a U.S. work visa and will join Manchester United for their preseason training camp.
Menswear and womenswear brand Thom Browne will be outfitting FC Barcelona for all of the club’s away trips for the next three years.
Transfer roundup: Liverpool have signed goalkeeper Alisson from Roma; Kelechi Nwakali has joined Porto on a season-long loan from Arsenal
Today’s longer read: Jeff Carlisle interviews former MLS defender Marvell Wynne about the lack of protections for injured players in the league that forced him to retire for ESPN