I wasn't there to actually here the ref's explanations, but based on what I have heard from you....yes, very poor explanations for the incident.
The saddest part for me, being certified as a USSF referee, is that this shows very poor professionalism on the referee(s) part.
BUT, as we can see from this discussion, that apparently is not going to change anytime soon. As long as the HSL referees are not required to be USSF certified, we will always see inconsistencies in the officiating.
