Referee Ricardo Salazar will be the head official for the Seattle Sounders’ first match of the 2017 MLS regular season at the Houston Dynamo on March 4 (5:30 p.m. PT), the Professional Referee Organization announced on Friday.
Salazar is entering his 17th season as a professional and refereed six Sounders matches last season, including three playoff games. In those six matches, he issued 11 total yellow cards (three for the Sounders, eight for opponents) and four red cards (two for the Sounders, two for opponents).
Salazar officiated the Sounders’ 5-0 win over FC Dallas on July 13, in which he ejected Maynor Figueroa for an intentional handball in the 4th minute before tossing Clint Dempsey for hands to the face on Juan Estaban Ortiz in the 33rd.