VAR is coming to MLS.
The Professional Referee Association announced last Friday that Video Assistant Replay has been implemented in certain Major League Soccer preseason games, including the Seattle Sounders’ 1-1 friendly draw with the Portland Timbers on Saturday.
The Sounders will also have live, in-game VAR when they take on the San Jose Earthquakes in a scrimmage on Tuesday (9:30 a.m. PT; SoundersFC.com) as well as in their three upcoming matches in Charleston, S.C., for the Carolina Challenge Cup. You can see the full list of preseason matches that will feature VAR testing here.
The VAR can communicate with the head referee in the event of clear errors in four game-altering situations: Goals, penalty calls, direct red-card incidents and cases of mistaken identity.
Fifteen of MLS’ 22 clubs will be exposed to VAR in the preseason. It made its debut last Friday in a 1-1 draw between Real Salt Lake and the Earthquakes and was used on one play when it confirmed a penalty kick in the 88th minute.
MLS released a statement saying that “continued testing will focus on ensuring that communication between the referee and the Video Assistant Referee is clear, precise and efficient, with the aim of reducing avoidable delays to create minimum interference with maximum benefit.”
The league is ideally hoping to fully implement VAR for the second half of the season following the All-Star Game.
“During this preseason phase of testing, PRO will be keen on identifying consistent decision-making and fine-tuning referee-to-VAR communications,” added PRO GM Peter Walton. “These valuable trainings will provide real-time review opportunities and will serve as a stepping stone for in-game testing during the MLS regular season.”
