On Monday, Alan Kelly won the MLS Referee of the Year Award for the third time. As custom, he also won the opportunity to referee the MLS Cup Final between Atlanta United and Portland Timbers. Atlanta’s results with Kelly as referee are somewhat of a mixed bag.
Since United’s inception, Kelly has refereed six times for the Five Stripes. In those matches, Atlanta only has one win, a 2-1 victory over Orlando City in May. United drew 1-1 against the Timbers in Portland last season, as well as another draw against Red Bulls last October.