In contesting calls, soccer is inarguably king

Christina Unkel was 10 when she became a certified soccer referee. And in all that time, she said she can remember just one instance in which she changed a call after being confronted by a group of angry players.

- BY KEVIN BAXTER

CHRISTIAN Pulisic of the U.S. argues with referee Kevin Ortega during a 2024 match against Uruguay.

(JAMIE SQUIRE Getty Images)

She was 14, working a youth game in Florida, when she awarded a throw-in. As the team that lost possession protested vehemently, an opposing player stepped into the scrum and sheepishly confessed to touching the ball last.

“I'm like, ‘OK, well, thanks for admitting that. I guess we'll throw it the other way, right?’” said Unkel, who, as an attorney in addition to being an official, knows the value of a confession.

Without that admission, she said, the protesting team's pleas would have necessarily fallen on deaf ears.

“Could you imagine if someone comes up and yells at you, and you were very solid in your decision, and then you decide to change your mind?” Unkel said. “You're not coming back.”

Referees know they don’t always get ‘em right, but imagine the chaos if they left every call up for debate. Yet that hasn't stopped every soccer player who’s ever laced up a pair of cleats from arguing calls.

Soccer is the only major U.S. team sport in which that’s allowed.

Show up a baseball umpire, and you're likely to watch the rest of the game on TV in the clubhouse. Say more than a few argumentative words to a football or basketball official, and you're likely to draw another foul. And don’t even think of talking to a hockey referee unless you have a “C” or “A” — for captain and alternate captain — sewn on your sweater.