TORONTO – The eye in the sky is about to peer down on each and every Major League Soccer game.
Starting with this weekend’s slate of matches, including Toronto FC’s contest on Saturday against D.C. United at RFK Stadium, MLS will start using the video assistant referee system, otherwise known as VAR, to help the referee on the field make the right call.
In each MLS stadium, the video assistant referee will be in a booth where he or she will be watching the game in real time via a variety of TV camera angles. The VAR’s job is to continually check for mistakes or anything missed by the referee.
The ref on the pitch will continue to officiate the match as normal. But, if the VAR feels the referee has made an error or missed an incident, it will immediately alert the ref, who’ll be wearing an ear piece. Once contacted by the VAR, the official on the field can either accept the recommendation, or watch the replay from a sideline monitor to decide for himself whether to overturn or uphold his original decision. Either way, the referee on the pitch has the final say, not the VAR.
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The VAR can check a play and then let the referee know of a potentially clear and obvious error, or a missed incident as it pertains to four game-changing situations: 1) goals, 2) penalty kick decisions, 3) straight red card decisions and 4) a mistaken player identity in issuing a red or yellow card. These are the only reviewable plays.
Toronto FC coach Greg Vanney and his players were briefed by former Premier League referee Howard Webb, who is the Professional Referee Organization’s manager of VAR, about the system prior to the Reds’ 2-2 draw against New York City FC at Yankee Stadium on July 19.
There’s been a hot debate within MLS circles about VAR, with several players already weighing in before it’s even been deployed. Captain Michael Bradley isn’t a fan, telling the Toronto Sun last week, “I don’t like it. I’m a traditionalist when it comes to this stuff. I think the human error when it comes to refereeing is part of it.”
TFC teammate Drew Moor, a veteran of 13 MLS seasons, takes a different view.
“I like it. They’ve laid out a very specific group of rules that they wanted to follow, and I think that’s a good thing. I’m open-minded to it. I think it will take some time. I’m interested to see how it goes. Like anybody, I don’t want the long interruptions in plays, but if it’s able to help games not being decided by a missed call, then that’s a good thing,” Moor told Sportsnet.
Like Moor, Vanney is waiting to pass judgement on VAR.
“I’ve very open-minded about it. I’ve watched the last several games, including ours in New York, with the thought of this coming in and how it would have or might have impacted those games, what calls might have been changed. My hope is that it will have less impact than everybody sort of suspects it will – [that it’ll have] less of an impact on the time of the game and the length of the game, and more clear impact in terms of getting calls right,” Vanney stated.
One of the great things about soccer is its natural rhythm. A major concern about VAR is that it will lead to more stoppages in play and disrupt the flow of the game. During a recent presentation to the media, Webb explained that in the VAR test matches run by the PRO, only 10-12 VAR checks were made per game, with less than 0.5 actual referee reviews per game. Webb said that the average delay time of a review was two minutes and 41 seconds.
Vanney is hopeful that the interruption in play will be minimal, as players, who routinely crowd around the ref to argue calls, will find it harder to do so when he’s backed up by the VAR’s assessment.
“At the end of the day, players want calls to be right on the field, and [VAR] tends to lead to less of the fighting and nonsense, because they know there’s more than just the ref’s eye on the game,” Vanney explained. “There’s a real possibility for this to be a success. We’ll see how it all plays out.”
Moor warns that players and fans expecting perfection will be disappointed, as no system is perfect and the VAR’s assessment is still subjective.
“I still think there’s going to be questions and controversy. Different [VAR] officials will look at a video of a play and see different things,” Moor said.
In many ways, MLS is on the ground floor when it comes to using this technology. The A-League in Australia started using the VAR system earlier this year. It was used during this summer’s Confederations Cup in Russia and in last December’s FIFA Club World Cup. Also, VAR was tested in a number of games in the United Soccer League last year. The Bundesliga in Germany and Italy’s Serie A both plan to introduce VAR during the 2017–18 season. VAR will also be used at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
“I welcome it, and I think it’s cool that MLS, in a way, is pioneering it,” Moor said.
It’s a sentiment echoed by Vanney.
“There are certain things in the game where we have the opportunity to take a leadership role in them even though we’re a young league, and this is one of those,” Vanney offered.
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