Lion Links: 6/10/17

Good morning, Mane Landers! As you probably know by now there aren’t any Orlando City games this weekend, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything to look forward to. Today is the start of a truly all-American weekend, with both senior teams playing on Sunday.

The USWNT will face Norway away in a friendly at 1 p.m, and then later the USMNT will take on Mexico in the famous Estadio Azteca at 8:30 p.m. The men’s game should be particularly exciting as it will be Bruce Arena’s first big test in his second stint with the USMNT. Anyway, let’s get to those links.

PSRA Writes an Open Letter About Ramos’ Rescinded Red Card

It is not as if this story needed any more controversy, but the Professional Soccer Referee Association just had to bring more. They claim that “PRO privately supported our officials for taking the proper, and courageous, red card action on the field,” and then backtracked because of outside pressures. In the letter, the PSRA supported the match official’s report claiming that it was a “studs exposed tackle that endangered the safety of the opponent.” They even went further to say that MLS referees’ calls need to be “clear and consistent.” I think that last sentence is something we can all agree on, as long as the referees aren’t consistently making decisions against us like the one against Ramos on Sunday.

Orlando City Gets a Few Days Off

Orlando City doesn’t have a game this weekend so Jason Kreis took this opportunity to give the players three days of rest. The rest is especially important after the congested May schedule the players faced and the hectic one they will face in June.

“I wanted the guys to kind of get away, so there was no intent on my part to really be controlling what they were doing,” Kreis said. “I hope that they got away from soccer. I hope that they got some rest, put their feet up and got themselves refreshed and ready to go because we’ve got a lot of games in front of us again in June.

“It’s going to be very taxing on us from the physical standpoint and also from a mental standpoint. I hope the guys did like I did and got away for three days, and now we’re back at it.”

Miami FC Presents a Challenge for Orlando City

Currently Miami FC sits in first place in the NASL standings, which means its U.S. Open Cup game with Orlando City might not be the easy win you’d think. The game will take place on Wednesday at Orlando City Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Miami FC has some dangerous attacking players, including Kwadwo Poku and Vincenzo Rennella, who may cause trouble for Orlando’s back four. Also of note, the team is currently in fantastic form, being unbeaten in their last five matches. Unfortunately, the Lions will be without Will Johnson and Cyle Larin who are on international duty with Canada, although both may have been rested for Saturday anyway.

Miami FC’s Poku Looks Forward to the Match-Up With Orlando City

Ghanaian and Miami FC midfielder Poku made a name for himself in the U.S. Open Cup back in 2014. While competing for the Atlanta Silverbacks, Poku scored a 90th-minute game-winning goal against MLS side Real Salt Lake. Soon after, he made the move to MLS to play for New York City FC, then coached by Jason Kreis. On Wednesday he will get a chance to face his former manager’s team when Miami FC takes on the Lions in Orlando. Poku is probably Miami FC’s best player and it’ll be interesting to see what Kreis does to deal with his combination of strength, pace, and precision.

FOX to Embrace an All-American Broadcast Team

The World Cup is without a doubt the biggest soccer showcase in the world, and here in the United States the commentary has always been a mix of American and British broadcasters. One thing we haven’t seen is the top crew being comprised solely of Americans. It’s likely that that’s exactly what we’re going to see next year. The team is currently going to be made up of Landon Donovan, John Strong, and Stuart Holden. Many Americans are interpreting this move by FOX as a positive showing on the state of soccer in this country. It is still unclear whether or not their entire broadcast crew will be American, which would be an even greater statement.

Stuart Holden on Fox having an All-American broadcast team:

"Soccer in our country is at a point now where I think we're ready to do that, and we have announcers and talent that are capable of bringing educated options,” said Holden. "I think it's time. I think it's time that we embrace the American voices."

That’s all for today’s lion links. Have a wonderful Saturday!