Two weeks ago, the Univ. of Iowa handed down suspensions to head coach Jim Zalesky and heavyweight Steve Mocco.    Both were suspended for one dual meet. Mocco for unsportsmanlike conduct after kicking Michigan State heavyweight John Wechter and Zalesky for inappropriate contact with an official after slapping him on the shoulder to tell the official that Mocco's match was over.    Of course, if the official were paying attention, he would have known the match was over and a lot of this mess that was created could have been avoided. But that is part of the problem. Everyone is around to police the coaches and wrestlers, but who watches the officials?    No one.    Unlike football, basketball or most other sports in the NCAA handbook, wrestling has no accountability for its officials. Neither conferences nor the NCAA oversee the officials in this sport, which can cause major problems.    Michigan State had hired George Kun, an Ohio native, to officiate the Iowa dual meet in East Lansing's Jenison Field House. Kun had also officiated the Spartans three previous meets as well, an act that would be considered unethical in any other sport. Even the NFL, with all of its officiating controversies, only allows an official to work a game for the same team twice.    But since individual schools are responsible for the hiring of officials for all home dual meets, Kun was able to work four consecutive meets and get away with it. Granted, NCAA officials are hard to come by. Iowa uses a rotation of five regular officials during the dual season, meaning each one usually works at least two dual meets. Some work three. But none work four in-a-row.    Kun has also had a habit of interacting with Michigan State fans, coaches and wrestlers before the dual meets. I know this because as a former Michigan State student, I witnessed this first-hand. In fact, I was once one of those fans interacting with Kun. This is clearly unprofessional for an NCAA official and shady.    Coaches often interact with officials, trading jokes with them before dual meets or tournaments, and that is no big deal, but the line is crossed when the official is joking around with home crowd fans.    But now to the real topic - how did Kun let this meet get out of hand? Bad judgement.    He lacked the courage to make many necessary calls throughout the meet, against both teams. Midway through the dual, Zalesky stated that he "tried to get the official to warn" him so that he could speak with him. It never happened.    During the heavyweight bout, he let a clear pin slide by his eyes. Obviously, nobody told Kun that the bridge of the neck does not have to be on the mat for a pin, but both shoulder blades.    This was not just any pin. It was a pin that would have won the dual meet for Iowa. But aside from that, coach Zalesky was going to let this one go. Zalesky hopped up on the staged mat in Jenison and guided the official to the pin.    Here is the first problem. As soon as a coach jumps on the mat while action is still ongoing, the official needs to take a team point away. In basketball, it is called a technical foul, and in football, though it is not enforced, it is called a personal foul. Kun ignored or did not notice Zalesky on the mat, which would have been hard to do, and continued to let the match run.    After the clock had run out, Kun continued to let the wrestlers battle for position. Zalesky then lightly slapped Kun on the back and told him that time was out. There were other words coming from his mouth, but nothing that Dan Gable or Bobby Douglas hasn't said to an official before either. If the official was offended, he should have deducted another team point from the Hawkeyes.    While Kun's back was turned, in a scene eerily reminiscent to the Hulk Hogan-Andre the Giant fiasco in the early 90's, Wechter punched Mocco and Mocco retaliated with a kick. Lesson learned for Mocco. He should have been suspended and he should have been reprimanded. A wrestler simply cannot retaliate.    But what about Wechter? Where was his punishment? It is interesting that Michigan State officials pushed the issue of having Zalesky and Mocco suspended, when it was their own wrestler who started the biggest problem. Did the Big Ten officials not see the punch on the videotape? I did.    And Zalesky. He told a local newspaper that he "just wants to make sure this guy never refs a match of" Iowa's again. In all of Zalesky's actions throughout the night, I can see nothing that would warrant a suspension. If Steve Alford or Joe Paterno can slap the official on the back or hang a silhouette of an official on their doors without suspension, why can't Zalesky tell an official that the clock has run out?    Kun was never punished, reprimanded or even seen after the dual. Why? Because he does not have to answer to anyone.    Since when is Michigan State the school to turn others in? We are talking about a program that was on probation by the NCAA for recruiting violations from July, 1998 until July, 2000.    That was the problem, and now for the solution.    One of two things needs to happen. Either the NCAA or the individual conferences need to begin overseeing officials and assigning them to dual meets, or two officials should be present at every match. Both may be possible.    Highly respected official Tyler Whylie of Michigan has begun to set up a network of officials, an officials association. Coaches call Whylie, who then assigns officials who have registered with him to dual meets throughout the Midwest. The officials still receive the same pay, but the process is fair.    This can help eliminate the illusion of "home" officials.    Schools such as Ohio State and Central Michigan use Whylie's services, and others should as well. By the creation of an official's association, officials would be held responsible for making bad calls or bad no-calls.     I had a chance to watch Whylie in action last year following the Michigan-Minnesota dual meet in Ann Arbor, Mich. when he fully critiqued his official following the match. The official, who will remain unnamed, made some key mistakes in the dual, but none that cost any individual a match. He was informed of those mistakes, given a tape of the dual meet and asked to critique himself as well.    This type of action can only help the sport to grow and become a better experience for coaches, wrestlers and fans.    Don't get me wrong. Many of the officials who do not belong to Whylie's group are the best officials in the nation. It would be wrong to assume that officials cannot be good without the help of outside critiquing, but at the same time, it can't hurt can it?    Note: The Center Circle will appear on TheMat.com on Thursdays.