MLS readies for video replay
Officials get up to speed ahead of Aug. 5 launch
PARK CITY, UTAH— The referee on the soccer field had just awarded a penalty kick, but he would not learn whether it was justified unless a man sitting in a modular trailer beyond the end line told him so. That man, Kevin Terry Jr., pressed a button glowing purple to replay the incident, then scooted forward to assess the play on a 27-inch tablet.
Terry zoomed in tight on the players. He swapped camera angles and adjusted the speed of the footage while working to determine two things: whether the supposed trip was indeed a foul as he suspected, and if so, whether it was committed in the box.
His heart thumped. His faced turned red.
“It’s stressful,” Terry would say later. “Now the weight is shifting onto me.”
That situation, and dozens of others like it, unfolded not during a match at a packed stadium but in youth scrimmages organized last week at a community park here. The games were staged as part of the final training camp to gauge referees’ competence in and comfort with video replay before Major League Soccer begins using it on Aug. 5, after its all-star break.
The last of the major domestic professional leagues to put a replay system in place, MLS trusts it will enhance the game without disrupting the flow, preventing or rectifying egregious errors with only brief de- lays and minimal obtrusiveness.
Asupplementary official — referred to as the VAR, for video assistant referee — can recommend a review in four circumstances considered match-changing: goals, penalties, straight red cards and instances of mistaken identity on infractions. In those cases, the VAR has been instructed to discern not whether the on-field decision was correct but whether it was clearly and obviously wrong.
In principle, video replay in soccer seems a prudent idea as long as it does not sterilize the game. International competitions and leagues around the world have experimented with the technology, and FIFA would like to install it for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The Bundesliga also will introduce it next month.
In practice, the VAR system caused daily bouts of confusion at its most recent high-profile trial, the Confederations Cup in Russia last month. Lengthy stops and arbitrary use frustrated participants, coaches and fans, and threatened to erode the public’s confidence in the initiative.
“If it’s used in the right way, this will be an absolutely wonderful addition to our sport,” said Howard Webb, a former Premier League official, who since March 1 has overseen VAR training in MLS. “If it’s overused, it’s going to make our sport a mess.”
Webb is determined not to let that happen. He understands some of the criticism levied against VAR during the Confederations Cup, but he is bullish on its future in MLS if for no other reason than the officials’ readiness. They have reviewed hundreds of clips of contentious plays, participated in online webinars and practiced conveying their findings to the on-field official in concise language.
At minimum, each official will have refereed a game with a VAR, served as a VAR during the MLS pre-season or in a United Soccer League match, and simulated three games as a VAR with a surrogate referee. In all, Webb estimated, each official will have spent at least 100 hours training.
Several officials said the primary adjustment to the new role had been recalibrating their mentality. For so long they have been accustomed to making every call, but now they need to worry about only select situations.
“Your instinct at first was to re-ref the game, but that’s not what you’re there for,” said Geoff Gamble, an MLS official. “You’re not trying to overturn every microscopic thing. It’s only the big, big things.”
Unlike in the NFL, where coaches can challenge a call on the field, the recommendation for a review in soccer comes from the VAR, who sits away from the playing surface, often by the broadcast trucks, and communicates over a wireless headset. Although the number of cameras will vary among stadiums, the VAR will have access to all available broadcast feeds.
For now, referees will toggle between on-field positions and the booth, though Webb said he could foresee officials who demonstrate exceptional proficiency in the replay system specializing in it.
Come Aug. 5, Webb will gladly accept performances like Terry’s. A fourth official in MLS, Terry followed proper procedure and rightly confirmed the penalty kick.
“I’m ready,” he said.