The chaos of the U.S. Open Cup: Why Sharktopus gets a rematch

Midway done the 2nd circular qualifying lucifer successful the U.S. Open Cup betwixt Bellevue Athletic and the eye-catching sanction of Sharktopus FC, Sharktopus manager Leo Ohannesian noticed thing odd. The Bellevue players seemed a small excessively affable with the referee.

"As a passionate shot coach, I could disagree with the calls," Ohannesian told ESPN. "There were immoderate questionable ones, but determination was [other] worldly during the game. They were calling him 'buddy' and by his archetypal name, and I was like, 'That's benignant of weird.' I usually notation to the referees arsenic 'sir.'"

After the match, which was won by Bellevue, 4-3, Ohannesian understood amended the crushed for the acquainted tone: 1 of the Sharktopus players relayed to him that the referee had, astatine 1 time, played for Bellevue.

When Ohannesian got home, helium looked up the referee's Instagram leafage and recovered video of him playing for Bellevue's reserve team, B2.

"And truthful past I sent a connection to U.S. Soccer and I was like, 'Hey, is this thing that's protestable? Because this seems similar a struggle of interest,'" helium said. "And they were like, 'What?'"

As turns out, not lone was the incidental protestable -- for a $500 interest -- but it resulted successful the U.S. Open Cup adjudication & disciplinary sheet ruling that the crippled should beryllium replayed successful its entirety.

"The replay has been ordered to support the integrity of the contention based connected the beingness of a struggle of interest, arsenic the referee was confirmed to beryllium a caller subordinate for Bellevue Athletic's 2nd team, B2," the sheet said successful a statement.

The connection added, "The Panel wants to beryllium wide for the grounds that its determination does not bespeak immoderate grounds oregon content that immoderate enactment attempted to power the competition, nor should the determination beryllium viewed arsenic a referendum of the on-field show of the lucifer officials during the lucifer successful question."

Welcome to the chaos that is the U.S. Open Cup, a contention that immoderate squad successful the state tin participate and astatine times features amateur sides going up against nonrecreational teams. The USOC was archetypal played successful 1913-14 and has been contested each twelvemonth since prevention for the 2020 and 2021 editions, which were canceled owed to the COVID-19 pandemic. The names of past champions are rife with the game's immigrant, working-class beginnings successful the U.S., teams similar Bethlehem Steel, Fall River SC and the New York Pancyprian-Freedoms.

That Bellevue Athletic oregon Sharktopus mightiness articulation that illustrious database of giants is the longest of agelong shots. Since the advent of MLS successful 1996, lone 1 non-MLS team, the second-tier Rochester Rhinos, person won the trophy, having done truthful successful 1999. These days, lone 16 of the 30 MLS teams instrumentality part, a bittersweet improvement for specified a storied competition, but it does connection a accidental for amateurs to hitch elbows with the large boys and summation a small notoriety on the mode -- beryllium it with their play oregon adjacent their squad name.

Like different cupful competitions astir the world, it isn't antithetic for lower-division teams to upend their much well-funded opponents. Just this year, San Francisco-based amateur broadside El Farolito defeated 2 nonrecreational side, Real Monarchs of MLS Next PRO and Monterey Bay of the USL Championship.

There person been different brainsick moments too the results. Former U.S. planetary Clint Dempsey was erstwhile suspended from the USOC for 2 years for tearing up a referee's notebook. The information that the matches are often played successful smaller venues makes for an aggravated atmosphere.

The communicative of however Sharktopus FC got its sanction has been mislaid to the sands of time. When asked astir the origins of the name, Ohannesian said, "No 1 knows."

Amateur teams travel and go, similar raindrops successful a thunderstorm, but they are often the ties that bind. Ohannesian recalled however erstwhile he...