Earlier today, the US Soccer Federation announced they ruled against the protest filed by Doxa FCW following their loss last weekend in the Second Qualifying Round of the 2026 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup Qualifying Tournament.
The protest alleged that a goal scored against Doxa by Lansdowne Yonkers FC in the fifth minute of the 2-1 loss entered through a gap in the side netting. Despite video from the official broadcast of the game that looks to support Doxa's position, the protest was denied and the goal is allowed to stand.
Doxa FCW vs Lansdowne Yonkers FC | Official Broadcast
Doxa FCW vs Lansdowne Yonkers FC | Close Up via NYCosmosSC on BlueSky
With this ruling, Lansdowne Yonkers officially moves onto the Third Qualifying Round. The Bhoys will play 2025 US Open Cup participant NY Renegades FC on Saturday, November.
Hudson River Blue has acquired the message sent to Doxa FCW following their protest. The committee's ruling does not repudiate that the ball could have entered through a gap in the side netting. Instead, it falls back on the mandate that the referee's decision is final, and that there is no video review in a game played at this level that could overturn that decision.
Michael Battista
Here is the statement US Soccer issued to Doxa FCW:
Upon review of your submission, we have determined that a protest based on the facts that you have submitted cannot be accepted by the competition.
Law 5 states: "The decisions of the referee regarding facts connected with play, including whether or not a goal is scored and the result of the match, are final."
As you are aware, there is no Video Assistant Referee protocol in place for this stage of the U.S. Open Cup. The referee was correct not to accept your invitation to review the video during the match as this is not permitted by the Laws.
US Soccer and the US Open Cup ruling that the referee has final say isn't surprising, but does conflict with past decision. In 2022, when FC Motown won their Open Cup protest in a First Round match, the generally accepted reasoning was the referee broke a rule of the game and the match was undeniably affected. A goal not going through the front of the net should also break a rule of the game and did matter in a 2-1 result. But it seems as though that is superseded by Law 5, as stated above.
