A local 2026 US Open Cup Qualifying game is now embroiled in controversy as it is being alleged the match referee was previously rostered by one of the teams involved. The game between Sharktopus FC and Bellevue Athletic FC was a thriller, with BAFC beating the hosts, 4-3, in extra time at Jefferson Playfield in Seattle to advance.
Sharktopus FC has filed an official protest with US Soccer in regards to the matter, alleging the referee was compromised by a “conflict of interest.”
Both teams compete in the lower leagues around Seattle. Sharktopus competes in the Seattle Recreational Adult Team Soccer, more commonly known as RATS. Bellevue is a bigger organization with teams in multiple leagues, both regional and national.
The 2026 US Open Cup Qualifying tournament features amateur soccer teams from around the country, playing one another until only a few remain. Those few are granted spots in the tournament proper next year. Last year, Washington Athletic Club completed the gauntlet and faced Tacoma Defiance in the First Round, falling 3-1.
The situation
The issue stems from referee Alex Wolbert, who served as the game’s main official. Records show that Wolbert has played for Bellevue Athletic on and off since 2022. This includes appearances with both the first team and reserves.
The first team, which is taking part in Open Cup qualifying, competes in the United Premier Soccer — a national amateur league with hundreds of teams across multiple divisions. The second team competes in multiple regional and state leagues, including in the Evergreen Premier League, an amateur league run by the Washington State Adult Soccer Association.
The UPSL’s website does not have historical roster information available, though Wolbert does have a page under his name that lists him as a member of Bellevue Athletic.
Using the Wayback Machine, Wolbert is shown to have been rostered for Bellevue Athletic in the 2022 Spring, 2022 Fall, 2023 Spring, and 2023 Fall seasons. He looks to have played more than 20 matches with the team in total.
More recently, Wolbert has appeared for Bellevue Athletic 2 — currently appearing on the team’s current official roster page. Video available online also shows Wolbert playing for BAFC 2 earlier this year in the Evergreen Premier League.
Additionally, Wolbert’s personal Instagram account has a post from September 2022 of him playing for Bellevue Athletic. Wolbert is also an assistant coach of the Bellevue College men’s soccer team. His bio on the school’s website says he “played semiprofessionally in the UPSL and (Cascadia Premier League)” (the latter of which BAFC 2 played in at one point), though the bio does not name the team(s) he played for.
A spokesperson for Bellevue Athletic responded to Sounder At Heart and clarified details regarding BAFC and its reserve team. The spokesperson claimed both teams are operated by completely different staff members except for Sporting Director Anastacio Rivera. The actual coaching staffs and decision makers for each team do not interact. They also noted that the coaches from earlier this year that were on the team with Wolbert are no longer in the organization.
Up until Bellevue Athletic 2 joined the UPSL for the upcoming fall season – albeit in a lower division – the two sides did not even compete in the same league or league system.
Wolbert has previously refereed matches in the US Open Cup, officiating the First Round match between Tacoma Defiance and Washington AC earlier this year.
The game
The match in question featured seven goals. The wet weather was a perfect backdrop, whose intensity picking up over time matched the energy of the game.
Sharktopus grabbed an early lead but needed a late equalizer to push the game into extra time. In extra time, Bellevue grabbed an early lead and eventually the win. Bellevue Athletic needed to fight for the win, with their keeper clearing multiple Sharktopus chances off the line in the second half of extra time.
There did not seem to be a particularly notable foul discrepancy and the only two yellow cards were issued to Bellevue Athletic players.
What happens now
When reached for comment, a spokesperson for Bellevue Athletic provided the following statement to Sounder at Heart:
“We respect the role of officials and the importance of transparency in competition. As is standard procedure, we were unaware of the referee assignments until arriving at the match. After consulting U.S. Soccer’s official handbook and referee policies, we believe there was no “vested interest”, and that all procedures were properly followed. We appreciate the efforts of everyone involved in maintaining fairness and remain focused on representing our community with integrity.”
Sharktopus also provided a statement to SaH regarding the situation:
“We love this game and the community around it. What happened was an unfortunate oversight that shouldn’t happen at any level. We’ve been in communication with U.S. Soccer and hope it leads to clearer, more transparent processes before matches. Our goal is simple — to keep the U.S. Open Cup fair, competitive, and worthy of the players and fans who make it special.”
Now that the game has officially been protested, a number of things could happen as a result. The disciplinary committee could declare the match void and order a replay, presumably with new officials. The committee could also rule Bellevue Athletic be disqualified from the competition, allowing Sharktopus to advance. Finally, the committee could rule against Sharktopus and allow the decision to stand.
In all likelihood, the second option is the least likely. Bellevue is not responsible for assigning referees and the fault of this situation falls on US Soccer and the referee assigner. The fault also lies on Wolbert himself for not declining the officiating role of this match despite his prior history with Bellevue.
The question being asked will most likely be did Wolbert’s involvement in the match and his prior connection to Bellevue Athletic have a direct impact on the game?
There is also the chance that the mere potential presence of a biased referee forces the federation’s hand, not dissimilar to what happened last year in Major League Soccer when a referee was swapped out of an Inter Miami CF game the day of when it was found they had posted a photo of themselves on social media wearing a Lionel Messi jersey.
