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MLS Inside Video Review

The Referee Store
With the new season, PRO is again producing Inside Video Review each week to look at how VAR worked (or didn’t) during the week. These reviews show the four image screens the MLS VARs have and much of the discussion in the booth and between the booth and the R. PRO usually opines on whether the right call was reached, but on one of these it does not.

Really interesting to see and hear the processes.
 
For me Fotis' decision to stick to the red is worse than not upgrading yellow to red in the later clip
Also, I think you'd have to disallow the final goal for handball, right? Goal is scored literally the second after the handball, which meets all requirements to be disallowed (if not for offside, which is what they went for)
 
I've got to say, their reasoning in the second last clip is a bit funny, too. Suggesting that the foul being outside the area brought the red card into play was just wrong - it was a charging offence, red was always on the table.
 
did they show 5 clips there? i think i have issues with 3 of them!

the first is clearly a pen, great call and the pen save is clearly off the line (surely either the AR can give this or VAR can give it without the need to delay the game for an OFR?)

the red for DOGSO being upheld is poor imo, covering defender would have got there and the non red for the foul outside the box should have been red, he would have clerly got there first. and finally surely they dismissed the handball element in the goal before focussing on the offiside, surely the handball should/could have been penalised?
 
did they show 5 clips there? i think i have issues with 3 of them!

the first is clearly a pen, great call and the pen save is clearly off the line (surely either the AR can give this or VAR can give it without the need to delay the game for an OFR?)

the red for DOGSO being upheld is poor imo, covering defender would have got there and the non red for the foul outside the box should have been red, he would have clerly got there first. and finally surely they dismissed the handball element in the goal before focussing on the offiside, surely the handball should/could have been penalised?
The DOGSO red being upheld I don't think is a clear and obvious error - IMO the attacker would have probably had the opportunity before the 'covering' defender challenged him, although I wouldn't have had an issue with the referee going yellow on field either. Either way I don't think it's obvious enough for VAR to recommend changing the decision.

Agreed that the second to last one should have been red. The final clip, the offside offence happens first, although I assume that even if it hadn't been offside that it would have been disallowed for the handball.
 
the first is clearly a pen, great call and the pen save is clearly off the line (surely either the AR can give this or VAR can give it without the need to delay the game for an OFR?)
MLS has been more aggressive in using OFR as game management. I'm not positive, but I believe that MLS refs are expected to do an OFR for that. They also do OFRs for OS decisions (and MLS does not use lines). Putting aside that I don't think those extra OFRs are needed, MLS seems to be a top performer in implementation of VAR.
surely they dismissed the handball element in the goal before focussing on the offiside, surely the handball should/could have been penalised?
As I understand the protocol, it was proper to review the OS first as it occurred first. (I like on the OS review that we hear the AR telling VAR what he had: player in OSP, but AR was unable to identify involvement but thought it was possible.)
 
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As I understand the protocol, it was proper to review the OS first as it occurred first. (I like on the OS review that we hear the AR telling VAR what he had: player in OSP, but AR was unable to identify involvement but thought it was possible.)

But did the team not say no to the handball as it was accidental, in their view.
They effectively ruled out handball.
 
Week 2



This one has good discussions about delayed flags, a nice comment from the AR about what he couldn’t see, and an review to upgrade a caution to SFP.
 
I really like the 3rd clip, don't think that gets overturned in the prem and it's 100% spot on.

I'm ok with the last 2 as well, red and yellow supportable for the dogso and I don't think 5 is VC at all. Attacker has eyes on the ball then spots the defender and puts his arms up to brace for the collision imo.
 
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interview with Howard Webb on VAR and MLS (with a couple of references to PL)
Just coming back to this
Not a pop at you @socal lurker ; far from it. Some of our views on VAR are aligned

I just found aspects of this interview unnacceptable
Quote: "If you say to any top official 'you can go into the game with VAR or without it,' I don't think there's any referee in the world at that level who would say 'you know something, I'm just going to fly by the seat of my pants and hope I can get it right,'"
It's obviously easy for HW to speak on behalf of all other R's involved in VAR games, Those R's are precluded from expressing an opinion themselves, so this statement from Webb smacks of FIFA propaganda

Quote: "We use the review area for every single review, even things like in or out of the penalty area, ball out of play, offside," Webb added. "It still needs the human determination. Our fans enjoy the unfolding narrative, they like to see the referee going to the screen. And it gives the referee information that's useful in managing the players"
I'm worried about this because for some of the younger generation and The Media, I'm loathed to agree that some may enjoy the pantomime
Safe to say, I don't

I do however agree that the PGMOL should not be rotating R's and VAR's with inferior R's acting as VAR all the time. HW's criticism of the EPL is fair
 
Just coming back to this
Not a pop at you @socal lurker ; far from it. Some of our views on VAR are aligned

I just found aspects of this interview unnacceptable
Quote: "If you say to any top official 'you can go into the game with VAR or without it,' I don't think there's any referee in the world at that level who would say 'you know something, I'm just going to fly by the seat of my pants and hope I can get it right,'"
It's obviously easy for HW to speak on behalf of all other R's involved in VAR games, Those R's are precluded from expressing an opinion themselves, so this statement from Webb smacks of FIFA propaganda

Quote: "We use the review area for every single review, even things like in or out of the penalty area, ball out of play, offside," Webb added. "It still needs the human determination. Our fans enjoy the unfolding narrative, they like to see the referee going to the screen. And it gives the referee information that's useful in managing the players"
I'm worried about this because for some of the younger generation and The Media, I'm loathed to agree that some may enjoy the pantomime
Safe to say, I don't

I do however agree that the PGMOL should not be rotating R's and VAR's with inferior R's acting as VAR all the time. HW's criticism of the EPL is fair
I do think it should be possible for a VAR review to be part of the drama - similar systems clearly improve the atmosphere in tennis, rugby, cricket etc. across all age groups of fans! Unfortunately, the closed-off way IFAB have chosen to implement it (out of a default assumption that all football fans are thugs who will take any excuse to smash the place up) means that a VAR is a moment of low interaction and low drama from the fans.

This stuff isn't hard and it's already been worked through in multiple other sports. Involving the fans in these process can improve the game and this should be a major consideration in designing these systems.
 
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