HARRISON, N.J. – It’s been two years since Major League Soccer first began investigating the viability of video replay and those plans came a bit closer to fruition this week with the three-day workshop on Video Assistant Referees (VARs) held by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) at Red Bull Arena.
The earliest that MLS could receive clearance to add a video assistant referee up in the booth – the VAR would be the fifth member of the officiating crew for a league match – is 2017, according to IFAB Technical Director David Elleray, who spoke to media at a roundtable on Wednesday. MLS is one of six leagues around the world working with IFAB as part of the organization’s two-year video replay experiment. The top flights in Australia, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands and Brazil are the others.
“What we’re in the process of doing right now is looking at the feasibility on when we could actually roll it out,” said Todd Durbin, MLS Executive VP of Player Relations and Competition.
MLS pushed forward in December 2015 with a live in-game experiment during a youth team match in Portland, where officials on the field were in direct communication with a VAR in the booth.
“What we found is that the technology is there,” Durbin said following Wednesday's live experiment at Red Bull Arena. “I don’t think we’re going to have big challenges as it relates to the technology and the communication. For us, the biggest challenge we all have to address going forward is referee training.”
Many details surrounding VARs have already been ironed out. For example, the IFAB has clear definitions as to when replays can be utilized – goals, straight red cards, mistaken identity and penalty decisions.
IFAB also determined that the head referees on the field would be the only ones with the authority to decide whether to invoke the use of video replay. There will be no coaches challenges as in other North American sports.
“We’re not saying, 'Was the referee’s decision right?'" said former English Premier League referee and IFAB technical director David Elleray. "We’re saying, 'Was it clearly wrong?' It’s not easy to judge if something is right or not. It’s easier to judge if it is clearly wrong.
“I think the most difficult part for all of us is working with FIFA and IFAB trying to get clarity on those situations where there is going to be some gray area and how we are going to provide clarity in and around those moments,” Durbin said.
Looking ahead to potential implementation in the future, Durbin said the league needs to ensure stadiums are “outfitted properly” to utilize the technology, that there’s a booth for the video assistant referee and that a monitor can be placed by the fourth official for access by the referee.
But the league is not planning to rush into video replay, despite widespread interest from fans, teams and media to see it in action. In addition to the referee training that will be required, Durbin also mentioned that the addition of a VAR will significantly impact the current referee pool.
“It’s important that we move forward as quickly as we can, but in a way that’s not reckless,” Durbin said. “We need to make sure that when we start this, we do it in a way that gives us the best chance of success."
Still, Durbin is confident that it’s a matter of when and not if MLS utilizes video replay in official matches.
“I don’t know the exact timing,” Durbin said. “We’ve done a lot of work, so I think where we are confident is we see a path forward and the steps that need to happen going forward.”
