Midway through the first half of yesterday's game, Jermaine Jones went in for a tackle in midfield. It was textbook. Textbook red card, that is.

With both legs lunging forward, Jones undercut Dax McCarty, scissoring the Metro midfielder's legs. This is how career-ending injuries are obtained. This is how you get ejected from the game.

Not in yesterday's game, it wasn't. Jones escaped with a yellow. Which, considering referee Allan Chapman's incompetence, was not that unexpected. After all, he might have been looking away from the play or something. It's not like it's his job to monitor such things.

And then, the bombshell came out. During the Western Conference final between LA and Seattle, the Sounders' Zach Scott was lucky to escape without a second yellow. According to the Galaxy's Omar Gonzalez, referee Kevin Stott (speaking of incompetent men in the middle), told an LA player that he was not going to give Scott a second yellow and a suspension that would go with it. You see, he wants to make sure that the best players play in the next game.

Incredible.

Here we have MLS, which prides itself to be above the match-fixing shenanigans we see throughout the world. And yet, here we have referees which CHOOSE to effect the game based on their own whims. (Unless they don't choose. Unless these are not their own whims, and the league is instructing them to do so. Then, this is worse, must worse.)

Integrity?

If MLS and its referees had any integrity, they would suspend Jones for the next game and beyond. No, it wouldn't be exactly fair, for Jones missing the next game would not erase that he stayed on the field to score yesterday's gamewinner. And yet, it will show that the league can rise above its match-fixing referees.

We doubt it will happen, however. They don't want Jones out of such a big game, do they?

Prove us wrong, MLS. Prove us wrong.