‘I don’t care if I get fined’: Revolution’s Caleb Porter had a fiery response to referee controversy

"The referee was a complete coward in that moment," Porter said after his team drew 2-2 at home against St. Louis City SC.

The Revolution drew 2-2 with St. Louis City SC at Gillette Stadium on Saturday night in what proved to be a controversial yet dramatic inaugural meeting of the two MLS clubs.

With St. Louis native and former Revolution forward Taylor Twellman on hand for the annual Concussion Awareness Night (Twellman also did the commentary for the Apple TV+ broadcast), the unofficially-dubbed “Taylor Twellman Derby” was played with a passion befitting its namesake.

An opening goal from former Revolution center back Henry Kessler provided an early jolt, answered almost immediately by a skillful equalizer from New England’s recent record signing, Luca Langoni (with the play coming largely at Kessler’s expense).

New England completed its first-half comeback with a clever finish via captain Carles Gil in the 40th minute, who scored a rare right-footed goal from the top of the box.

In the second half, the momentum swung back in St. Louis’ favor, and the field tilted increasingly against Caleb Porter’s team. Controversy involving an MLS-specific rule reared its ugly head moments before the visitors’ equalizer in the 73rd minute, when Langoni took too long to exit the field after being substituted. Nacho Gil (who was slated to replace Langoni) was then held off for more than a minute to comply with the “timed substitution rule,” during which time Simon Becher scored to make it 2-2.

Additional controversy erupted following a VAR check for a St. Louis handball in the box with just over 10 minutes remaining. The ball clearly struck St. Louis defender Kyle Hiebert’s right arm as he went to contest a header with Nacho Gil, but the referee judged that his arm was in a “justifiable position,” and play continued.

In the end, the Revolution were forced to settle for a point at home, remaining five points behind the current Eastern Conference playoff line.

Here are some takeaways from an eventful night:

The controversies that led to Caleb Porter’s fiery postgame comments.

Following the game, the Revolution head coach was not happy with what he deemed a poor night from the officiating. He began with the penalty kick VAR review late in the second half that was ultimately deemed not a penalty (against St. Louis).

“We are very disappointed with the officiating,” Porter began in his postgame remarks. “It’s 100 percent a penalty kick. One hundred percent. I don’t know how you look honestly at the screen and decide not to give a penalty.”

Per the rules set by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), a handball should be called:

“If a player touches the ball with their hand/arm when it has made their body unnaturally bigger.”

“A player is considered to have made their body unnaturally bigger when the position of their hand/arm is not a consequence of, or justifiable by, the player’s body movement for that specific situation. By having their hand/arm in such a position, the player takes a risk of their hand/arm being hit by the ball and being penalized.”

After the game, referee Tim Ford provided an explanation to pool reporter Frank Dell’Apa of The Boston Globe: “Upon video review it was the opinion of the referee that the ball took an unexpected deflection into the St. Louis players arm which was in a justifiable position for his action.”

The “unexpected deflection” aspect, which has recently been cited as a means of being more deferential to defenders in potential handball situations, seemed questionable given Nacho Gil’s deliberate intent to play the ball (the deflection coming later).

Porter, whose team is the only in MLS to not be awarded a regular season penalty kick in 2024, was furious.

“It is a complete joke. It’s a travesty, and there needs to be some accountability for that decision, because we lost two points because of that decision,” he fumed. “We have literally had that same thing happen to us three different times where the official has been sent to the monitor, and there is a clear penalty, and the official doesn’t call it. What is happening? It is mind-boggling.

“I have never seen anything like it,” Porter continued. “The referee was a complete coward in that moment. Complete coward, and it’s a travesty. He shouldn’t officiate. He cost our players two points today, two really important points, and I’m not going to stand for it. I don’t care if I get fined, I don’t care what [MLS commissioner] Don Garber says. What Don Garber needs to do is look at that situation, look at the official in that situation, and needs to hold this official accountable.”

Here’s some video of Porter’s comments, via Seth Macomber of The Blazing Musket.

Incredibly, Porter wasn’t done with his colorful quotes, turning his attention to the other controversial flashpoint: Langoni’s substitution rule violation.

The “timed substitution rule” — which Langoni was penalized for prior to St. Louis’ equalizer — is new in MLS in 2024, and has already drawn the ire of the likes of Lionel Messi. It requires that a departing substitute must leave the field within 10 seconds. If he doesn’t, the player subbing on has to wait at least 60 seconds (and can only enter at a regular stoppage in play).

“Then, the second part of the joke show, clown show, was giving us a [timed substitution] penalty for not getting out of the game,” said Porter. “Luca was coming out of the game because he was injured.

“He couldn’t sprint any faster to get out of the game,” Porter claimed. “Initially, he walked, yes, but then he sprinted out of the game as fast as he could. The referee told me that it was 14 seconds. Fourteen seconds it took him to get out of the game. So, because he is four seconds late because he can’t sprint any faster, they penalize us and we end up giving away a goal during that penalty. The game isn’t meant to be played this way. It’s an absolute joke. You’re supposed to, as an official, use your discretion in those moments. He did not use his discretion in either of those moments.”

“The midfield is where this game is going to be won tonight.”

Aside from the officiating, the game itself provided plenty of fascinating takeaways.

The most interesting tactical dynamic of the game occurred in the central midfield battle, with the Revolution ultimately unable to provide enough answers.

New England began in Porter’s standard 4-2-3-1 setup, with Giacomo Vrioni, Dylan Borrero, Ian Harkes, and Peyton Miller returning to the Starting XI. Langoni made his first start since joining New England from Boca Juniors.

Harkes and fellow central midfielder Matt Polster occupied the double pivot behind Carles Gil. They are each individually talented players capable of playing from box to box, but appear to lack a capacity to balance each other consistently. On frequent occasions, they were caught upfield or simply out of position.

St. Louis midfielder Eduard Löwen, sitting in a slightly deeper position, found space at will, exploiting a frequent numerical advantage his team enjoyed in the middle of the field with Carles Gil not always able to track back to assist in defense. Löwen led the game with 104 touches and 12 passes into the final third.

“The midfield is where this game is going to be won tonight,” noted Twellman early in the broadcast. It proved to be an astute observation. St. Louis was able to link passes in close quarters right in front of New England’s back line far too easily, leading to predictably frantic results.

It was probably fitting that the visitors found an equalizer in the second half from Becher running onto a deflected cross from a deeper position. New England again failed to mark the trailing runner, and Becher promptly dispatched his first-time shot into the corner of the goal.

The set piece struggles continued.

Despite the inclusion of imposing 6-foot-3 center back Tim Parker in the New England back line for the first time since he was acquired in an August trade, the Revolution nonetheless remained consistently vulnerable on set pieces.

Ironically, the St. Louis opener arrived from the head of a player who was himself a part of that struggling New England set piece defense: Henry Kessler.

Traded for Parker on Aug. 3, Kessler appeared to have delivered the perfect riposte to Revolution leadership, escaping the marking of Will Sands (another midseason Revolution pickup) and looping his near-post header into the far side-netting.

An up-and-down night for goal-scorers.

Kessler’s revenge was short-lived (or at least partly curtailed) several minutes later when Langoni escaped down the left wing, dropping the former Revolution center back literally on the ground with a clever turn. The Argentine winger cruised in on goal from a tight angle, but nutmegged St. Louis goalkeeper Roman Bürki for a quick equalizer.

Though his performance was somewhat muted by New England’s overall lack of fluidity (potentially due to players continuing to get to know each other), Langoni has already proven to be a goalscorer.

Yet it was his inexperience (or, as Porter noted, possibly an injury) that led to his timed substitution rule violation when he exited in the second half. Exactly how much fault should be placed at Langoni’s feet is debatable, though he clearly won’t be able to plead ignorance again.

Taking a longer view, it seems like the Argentine could have a very successful career in New England. As a microcosm of the team’s overall attacking setup, he might need more time to find a rhythm, though the Revolution’s margin of error in a playoff chase continues to become even smaller.

Aljaz Ivacic was phenomenal.

In what has become a common refrain since he signed with New England in April, goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic erased what would have been multiple opposing goals. Especially as the midfield became more fractured in the second half, Ivacic was called upon with increasing desperation.

By game’s end, the 30-year-old Slovenian had registered a career-high nine saves, several of which could end up on his end-of-season highlight montage.

The St. Louis second-half equalizer had a sense of inevitability to it, but Ivacic held back to the tide for far longer than could have realistically been expected.