“The Geiger Show.”

It’s the name D.C. United head coach Ben Olsen gave Sunday evening’s 1-1 draw with the Philadelphia Union, a not-so-subtle jab at Referee Mark Geiger, who—arguably, at least—cost the black and red a goal on two separate occasions.

“It was his show tonight,” Olsen said after the match. “It’s not about the players.”

The match, played in front of a small but vocal crowd of 12,312, was a wild affair. In addition to the two disallowed goals, Geiger also doled out 10 cards—three of them red—during a match that looked less like a soccer game and more like a prison riot.

The black and red were tentative out of the gate, and the Union wasted no time making them pay for their lack of urgency. Just eight minutes in, former United player Freddy Adu served a beautiful, bending free kick into the area. After pinballing between several players in the box, the ball found its way to another former member of the black and red, Brian Carroll. The Union midfielder slotted it home for his second goal of the season.

The early strike was a wake-up call for D.C. United, who seemed to have forgotten that it’s in the middle of a playoff race. The team would go on to create several chances of its own—a Chris Pontius blast from 30 yards out would be pushed over the crossbar by Union keeper Zach MacMath. Just seconds later, new addition Lionard Pajoy would be denied. The half would draw to a close as Adu would clear yet another DCU opportunity off the goal line.

DCU would eventually equalize in the 71st minute—a Branko Bošković free kick would be inadvertently headed home by the Union’s Amobi Okugo—but Geiger would be the real show-stopper, plucking a much needed victory from United’s grasp.

Things truly started to unravel in the 64th minute. Bošković fed United Captain Dwayne De Rosario into the right side of the penalty area, and DeRo would have his shot pushed aside by MacMath. DCU forward Hamdi Salihi swooped in to try and punch home the rebound, but was beaten to the ball by a Philadelphia defender who would clear the ball across the box. The clearance would fall directly at the feet of midfielder Nick DeLeon, who blasted the ball into the back of the net. Geiger, however, had other ideas. He called a foul on Salihi, claiming he’d interfered with then Union keeper, disallowing the goal. (More on why that’s a crock of shit in just a minute.)

The second of the disallowed goals was perhaps even more controversial. After Pontius was taken down in the area, De Rosario stepped up and cooly finished the ensuing penalty kick, giving United a 2-1 lead. The goal would be called back, however, after Geiger ruled that one of DeRo’s teammates had encroached on the semi-circle above the penalty area during his kick. A second look reveals that Salihi had indeed infringed on the area during the kick. (Neither team’s players can enter the penalty area or semi-circle above it until the ball is struck.)

The encroachment call, while valid, is one that is rarely made—typically a ref will only call the PK back if the player who violated the rule ends up involved in the goal somehow, if they, for example, end up scoring after a save or deflection off the post. The majority of the time, DeRo’s goal would have been allowed. Geiger chose to make the exception the rule, even though Salihi wasn’t the only one in the area—several Union players were pushing forward as well.

A scuffle ensued shortly thereafter, and Bošković, who’d been an absolute playmaker as a second-half substitute, was shown the door for taking a swing at one of his opponents. Some four minutes later, De Rosario stepped to the spot to retake the PK, and skied it. It would be United’s last real shot at a win.

The last 10 or so minutes of the match devolved into absolute madness. Philadelphia’s Sheanon Williams was (perhaps unfairly) shown the door after a challenge from behind on Pontius. DCU defender Emiliano Dudar received a straight red card for a rash tackle. After the final whistle, United’s players even got into it with each other, as Chris Korb and Brandon McDonald had to be separated after exchanging words.

It’s not often you get a chance to speak to a referee, as they’re usually whisked away by security and unavailable to the media after a match. I did manage to get a hold of Mark Geiger, though. He was—I shit you not—TEACHING A CLINIC for local youth soccer refs after the match. Oh, the irony. Don’t be surprised if your six-year-old gets red carded in their next game by one of the refs who listened to Geiger’s drivel. I managed to squeeze a few questions in before everyone in the room realized that I didn’t belong there.

When asked about the first disallowed goal, Geiger told me that he felt the goalie was in possession of the ball and was dispossessed/fouled by an opponent. I asked him if he’d noticed that it was actually one of MacMath’s teammates who dispossessed him, and he said he didn’t see. “From what I could tell, there was an attacker and a defender as well,” Geiger told me defensively. “I feel the goalie had possession of the ball,” he reiterated.

Here’s the rub: MacMath didn’t have possession of the ball, and it was his teammate who booted it away. Though the keeper did appear to touch the ball, he didn’t control it. Don’t believe me? Then believe the U.S. Soccer Federation:

12.16 GOALKEEPER POSSESSION OF THE BALL
The goalkeeper is considered to be in control of the ball when the ball is held with both hands, held by trapping the ball between one hand and any surface (e.g., the ground, a goalpost, the goalkeeper’s body), or holding the ball in the outstretched open palm.

Geiger—who’s given out 10 red cards in just 12 MLS matches this year—was dead wrong, and it cost United a victory. Sure, the black and red had other shortcomings, but they really can blame the ref this time. They certainly can’t afford to dwell on that fact, though, with two more crucial eastern conference match-ups in the next seven days.

“We’ve got to bitch and moan tonight, smash some lockers and all that stuff and then tomorrow forget about it and get ready for a very good Chicago team on Wednesday,” Olsen told the assembled media after the disappointing draw.

I had a hard time getting the guys to comment on the officiating after the match, but perhaps United keeper Bill Hamid put it best: “If I told you what I thought of the ref tonight,” he quipped, “I’d be suspended…for the rest of the season.”