Card decision is the highlight of Whitecaps’ draw in Chicago

The Vancouver Whitecaps earned their first-ever road point in MLS play in a 0-0 draw with the Chicago Fire Saturday. In a match which saw the Fire, with one win all season long, pack the middle of the park and the Whitecaps using eight starters who played 120 minutes in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship semifinal second-leg thriller against the the Montreal Impact, there was never the feeling that this game was ever going to evolve into anything more than a tight, tight chess match. There were a couple of chances of note; but make no mistake, this was not what you would consider an open game. But it could have been all, so, so different, had Fire defender Josip Mikulic seen a different colour of card after he was whistled for fouling Whitecaps’ striker Camilo from behind in the fourth minute. Referee Andrew Chapin drew the ire of the Whitecaps when the card he produced was yellow, not red. Now, it’s oh so easy for journalists to take shots at referees; it often represents the worst our craft can offer. We judge them based on replays we can see over and over again, even though refs don’t get second chances, and have to make their judgments at game speed. And, the refs are often the poorest paid people on the fields of play. The criteria on which we judge refs makes for a decidedly uneven and grossly unfair process. And, referees are human. Most of them don’t want the headlines. Most of them don’t want to be the deciding factors in matches. So, with only four minutes gone, we can try to see where Chapin was coming from. Did he believe that with three members of the Fire backline turning and chasing Camilo, that the Whitecaps forward wasn’t truly in the clear? Or was the referee aware that a sending off so early in the match could spoil the game? The Whitecaps, in their post-match press release and game recap, didn’t try to toe the line of objectivity about the call. “Mikulic could consider himself fortunate not to be punished more severely for his tackle, as it looked like a professional foul by the defender,” read the report from the team. The problem comes with the fact that Chapin produced the yellow card. If he simply calls the foul and shows no card, then he lets everyone know that he didn’t think the foul was clumsy or, worse, professional. But, by giving the yellow, he recognizes that the tackle came from behind. He has admitted to all that he thinks Mikulic is culpable for his actions. And MLS does have its “points of emphasis” this season, instructing refs to err on the side of cards and harsh punishment in order to protect the players on the ball. But, again, we’ve all had time to look at the play over and over, at different angles. Chicago had two fantastic chances to get the game’s only goal in the first half. Vancouver’s Eric Hassli had a golden chance to win it in the second. The Fire’s Dominic Oduro barged past Whitecaps’ defender Mouloud Akloul — the hero of Wednesday’s NCC triumph over Montreal — and skipped to the inside of the penalty area. With Whitecaps’ keeper Jay Nolly at his mercy, Oduro fired well over the bar. Forward Diego Chaves then struck the post with a shot after he was sprung free by a great pass from Fire midfield general Marco Pappa. In the 75th minute, Chiumiento made another pass that ripped open the Fire defence. He found Hassli behind the backline, and the French striker had only keeper Jon Conway — who was TFC’s No. 2 last season — to beat. But Hassli hesitated when he got to the penalty area, and got the ball caught under his feet. Conway reacted quickly, and dove to snatch the ball away before Hassli could even get off a shot.