MLS has announced that Video Review will be used in all games beginning on August 5. This will begin the curious journey that many have been debating on what the effects of what Video Review will bring.
How it will be placed in the game
Beginning on August 5th, there will be a fifth referee along with the Video Assistant Referee or commonly called VAR. According to MLSsoccer.com, VAR will be available for every MLS league match but will only be used for four situations. Those are goals, penalty kicks, red cards, and mistaken identity.
Howard Webb, who is the Professional Referee Organization’s Manager of VAR Operations, will talk to the media about Video Review soccer tomorrow (July 21).
The Impact
VAR being implemented for every match in the MLS will allow for fans and other leagues to see the impacts it can make, and whether or not it is worth to put in place in their respective leagues. There has been quite a lot of debates regarding Video Review in soccer. The main argument against it is there is no need to make such a drastic change to the beautiful game. Human mistakes are a part of the game whether the fans like it or not.
The arguments for it, however, are that it eliminates most of the key errors made by the referees currently. Mistakes made by the referees will never be fully eradicated from the game, but it is a good step towards minimizing the errors.
If VAR has a positive outcome in the MLS, we could not only see it in the major leagues of the world but see it be used for much more such as handballs and offside calls. It does speak volumes that a referee as big as Howard Webb, who has featured in the Premier League and the World Cup final, is spearheading the addition of VAR to the soccer world.