Tom Timmermann | Post-Dispatch
Every week, PRO, the Professional Referees Organization, which oversees the officiating in Major League Soccer and the other pro leagues in America, reviews the times when VAR, video assistant referee, was used in a game.
And the verdict on the controversial call that gave St. Louis City SC a loss instead of a tie on Saturday in Vancouver was: That was not the right call.
You can watch and listen to the VAR/referee discussions here, starting at the 7:39 mark.
On the play in question, the knee of City SC’s Mykhi Joyner makes contact with the trailing leg of Vancouver’s Mathias Laborda as Laborda chases after a ball in City SC’s end of the field. That throws off the stride of Laborda, and trips him, inside the penalty area. Referee Fotis Bazakos can be heard on the replay explaining to the Vancouver players why he didn’t make the call, but VAR official Kevin Terry Jr. is leaning right from the start that it’s a penalty kick and eventually convinces Bazakos to make the call, though we can’t hear the part of the audio where Bazakos changes his mind and allows the PK.
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But PRO’s review says what many people watching the play thought: That was not a clear and obvious error that should have sent the play down for review. This is from The Definitive Angle, in which PRO summarizes all the VAR rulings:
“In real-time, the referee saw that there was no secondary action from the defender, and the two players were running normally; however, the VAR determined that Laborda was going to gain control of the ball, and the contact from behind had an impact. The referee awarded penalty kick after video review.
“While there was contact between the two players, Laborda crossed in front of Joyner while the defender was running to his position. Joyner did not change his stride or reach out to trip his opponent. The contact was incidental. This did not rise to the level of a clear and obvious error, and an on-field review should not have been recommended.”
Of course, nothing changes. It still goes into the books as a 3-2 loss for City SC.
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