By RYAN TOLMICH
With technology becoming a bigger part of the game on a worldwide level, MLS is looking to become the first league to test out in-game video reviews.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter announced his support for a review system earlier this week in what commissioner Don Garber called “music to my ears,” as MLS has informed FIFA of its interest in being the first professional league to implement the new system.
“I would love to be able to do that,” Garber said. “[MLS deputy commissioner] Mark Abbott was out in Zurich at a meeting last week [at FIFA headquarters] and let folks in Zurich know that we’d be happy to work with them to be that league.
“I don’t know what their plans are to experiment with that, but I believe the time has come for there to be a mechanism so that games are not determined by [referee calls] that are not right.”
According to Blatter, coaches would be able to challenge one or two of the referee’s decisions per half, but only during stoppages in play. Blatter also stated his interest in testing the technology in leagues or the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in New Zealand.
MLS had previously been interested in utilizing goal-line technology, but the league later revealed that it would be too expensive to implement in its current state.
Any rule changes would require approval from the International Football Association Board before being implemented.
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What do you think of the potential video review system? Would it be a positive for the MLS game, or do you think it would slow down play too much?
Share your thoughts below.
everyone bawwwing about stoppages better hate diving and want players who do it banned from the sport. If limited in number and limited to plays that already cause a stoppage such as big ones like red cards or penalties then video review would stop the game far far less and and be far less annoying than diving.
hell you could review dives while the players are rolling around crying and not even need to cut to commercial. That would cut down on that practice right quick.
Good idea!!
Wow, I’m surprised at how many people are against this. Just because they think there might be 1-2 commercials per 45 minutes. Mind you, these are probably the same people that come on here immediately after every game they’ve ever seen complaining about officiating. Well here’s the solution. A real, 20th Century solution (yes, 20th.) I fully support the use of technology replays, especially for high profile tournaments. It makes no sense to me why, with so much on the line, we just accept incorrect calls as part of life without trying to solve the problem.
And the question I pose to anyone who is against using video replays is: when we watch a game on TV, we get the benefit of slow-motion, multiple angles and multiple viewings; why would we leave the referee (the decision-maker) as the one person watching the game with the least amount of information? (only one angle, only one viewing, in real time) That to me makes no sense. Most of these incorrect calls are obvious on a single replay, available to the TV-watching audience within seconds. There’s no need for a long break from the action. (My preference would be to have a 5th official watching the TV stream making these calls and then communicating to the ref.)
The answer to your question I’m afraid is really very simple. The reason is that we don’t like commercials… that’s the foul stench keeps us just outside the door and likely always will. And at the risk of restating what others have on this page, I’ll do it once more here.
. As an individual, I am aware of the agony that I am accepting when my team gets jobbed and I get the benefit of seeing it 20 times in slo-mo. I have been there …. Costa Rica in 2000 away WCQ, when Berhalter took a ball of his face in the 90+ minute and the resulting handball was converted would’ve been a slam dunk reversal on replay
And Berhalter again in 2002 WC QF against Germany— who knows? A penalty and a red could both easily be argued vs Frings and then who knows? What if the call on the line had been spotted on review (of course there was no whistle… here is another dilemma for another time)
I hated these moments so much that even now I am thinking about throwing my girlfriend out so I can barrf till daybreak. But replay? Absolutly not– I am utterly at peace. No commercials for me. Watching baseball – a slow and naturally broken game which is perfect for replay- go through all these growing pains with something as seemingly simple as a boundary Fair/Foul call gives me even more comfort that this is the appropriate decision.
The thing I’ve learned is that the short, sweet, highly accurate system that is always described on the box is a myth….It hasn’t been seen in countless revisions by multiple wealthy leagues and organizations since the 1980s. And while it improves accuracy, it isn’t a failsafe at all Soccer by nature is full of calls that are disputable from a billion angles. We fight all the time here after seeing those same replays.
Soccer is the greatest thing ever just like it is. I don’t need a change. And I don’t like seeing Sepp’s grubby paws on anything.
Well I guess if you would prefer to live with incorrect calls if it means keeping commercials out, then I guess there’s nothing for us to argue about. I’d be happy to endure commercials in return for correct calls, but it just comes down to personal preference; while I don’t really understand why you feel that way, there’s no way arguing will change your preference.
I would like to make a couple points though:
1) While I’m not naive – I know that if such a system is in place commercials will likely be snuck in – it’s wouldn’t necessarily happen, and it’s not necessarily true that producers are taking every opportunity to push commercials into the game. I’ve watched some MLS games on spanish channels, and they often have more intrusive advertisements, things I’ve seen include: a) those weird perspective ads on the field beside the goals, (b) animated advertisements that are overlayed over the action, (b) picture-in-picture ads, where the game is minimized into the corner, muted, and a commercial plays in a larger screen in the opposite corner, with audio. There’s no technical reason why ESPN couldn’t do the same. I imagine they don’t because they know the audience wouldn’t tolerate it. So there’s some hope there.
2) Not sure about baseball; the only other sport I follow is american football, and I think they’ve done a pretty decent job of making it quick. It’s not what it used to be. Now, the standard reviews (every scoring play, every turnover) usually happen discretely during the normal interludes so that you don’t even notice. And giving coaches the power to decide what to challenge – and limiting the number – has gone a huge way towards making sure it’s only the most important plays that are reviewed.
3) Regarding your claim that most things in soccer are disputable – that’s true, and that’s why I think we should start by going for the things that are not disputable, are objective not subjective. Things like: did the ball cross the line? was the player fouled in the box or out? was he offside or on? (these things are usually easy to tell on replay.) Once we’ve gotten that stuff we can tackle the more subjective things. But the point of the replay, in my mind, isn’t to get more opinions. It’s to give the ref(s) a better look at the thing they’re already authorized to use their judgment on. Maybe the ref would make a different judgment if he has the benefit of a closeup rather than being 20 yards away with an obstructed view. Also – why do we need just one ref? Linesmen in soccer are more like assistants. In the NFL, there is a team of refs that confer on many decisions. I think this would improve decision-making.
4) I hate Sepp as much as you but I’m certainly not going to turn down something I think is good for the game just because his name is on it. I’m happy for any sort of progress
Bad idea. You will see managers tell their players to fake injuries to stop the game so that calls can be reviewed
TAKE THAT EXTRA CASH it will cost for the replay technology and crew salaries needed to operate it AND USE IT TO HIRE HIGHER QUALITY REFS
No thx
Finally some talk of using technology in a sensible manner to get more calls correct on the pitch. Ref crews gather together a lot more in games to discuss plays the head official may have missed what’s wrong with giving the ref more eyes on the field. I’d rather have a bit longer of a game than a blunder filled match where outcomes could be decided by mistakes.
Who watches soccer to escape our ad drenched society? Brands on jerseys, ads around the field, stadium names sponsored by corporations etc. Soccer is crawling with more and more advertisers and yet one more commercial during a game is going to make people say enough is enough? I don’t think so. If you want to escape commercialism then go camping in the woods.
I do both. And people should defintely go outside more you’re right there. You don’t even have to go campling… you can always just… you know… “play” soccer. Or watch it in a stadium (though you may want to bring a book now)
It is very easy for me to look past the advertisement on a shirt at the soccer game being played on TV. There isn’t much to look at though in a Snickers commercial. And when my team is pouring on the pressure and looking for a goal against a tired side, I can’t wait until somebody dives by the area with the satisfaction of knowing that even if he does not win a penatly, he’s bought his defense five minutes to breathe an organize themselves… perhaps have a chat with the manager before he takes the yellow he knew was coming his way. And that’s assuming the ref gets it right with the replay, which 20 years of experience in American sports have definitively shown is no sure thing.
I am fine with goal line technology. I am fine with anything that actually *is* fast instead of “should probably be fast”, and has precedent to show this, such as GT technology had with tennis. Even if they want to try replay, do it somehwere else. Let the A-league try it. I’m confident it will be ugly, but if I am wrong then so be it.
Use of video could be done right and very selectively or could be overbearing and abused. There may be a way to accomplish it sparingly where it corrects or reaffirms a call. I’m willing to give it a chance to eliminate errors.
I also enjoy getting out to the back country as much as I can but the one thing that I find difficult is not getting any cell service to check soccer scores. Haha.
+1 Ah that dilemma… It is like you are peering into my soul. . Sometimes I wonder who would have an easier time mapping the cell phone hot spots in these kinds of places… the park rangers and site staff, or random soccer fans
all good points imho. an additional 5 minutes per game is nothing if we can verify with video review that the result is legit. of course there are many examples where corporate interests have led to abuse (tour de france and dooing, congress and military spending are just two), which is why thoughtful and unvested regulation is so important.
“MLS had previously been interested in utilizing goal-line technology, but the league later revealed that it would be too expensive to implement in its current state.”
So where’s all that Adidas/TV/sponsors money going? I don’t see it being spent on salary rises. Improve your quality on the pitch. We’ve been fine without replays.
i have watched too many games and come away with that sick feeling that justice was not done. say what you will about american football. when it come to ref decisions, they get it right almost every time and thAt is in no small part because of instant replay. soccer/football needs to fix the very serious problems it has with corruption and with poor reffing. i read all the comments fearing ‘flow of the game’ will be lost and ads will be overdone but isn’t that the challenge for mls and other early adopters? innovation is not necessarily a bad thing. i believe in this case it could work.
LOL, you have to be a shill.
I’m in agreement. I must be a shill too.
Use technology as an aid to make correct decisions quickly. We use technology all day long how come refs can’t use it as well to do their job better.
Quickly has always been the promise. In every other league that has adopted replayhere. It has not once been delivered. Nor will it, because once you start selling TV spots in this space, you have to give them their 30 secs each. So it will be “no rush”, as it always is, and I will be sad.
As went the stupid shoot out, so shall be the fate of this dumb idea.
The death of soccer in America. This will now lead to our teams not being good and we will never win a world cup. this is just the worst thing that could ever happen in the history of everything
In the very first comment Desmond Orosco said all that needed said on this subject.
It is nothing but a ruse to enable many more commercials. And yes, to turn soccer into every other American sport. One does not have to question why Blatter would be for it either. Based on his history, the 2022 world cup in Qatar for instance, it is clear that he will line his pockets even more. In fact, if the MLS does indeed introduce this, imo it would be his biggest payoff.
I’m not defending blatter for anything but if there were to be commercials during a video replay pause it would actually be money going to the tv network which they would really like which would in turn benefit MLS when it signs their next big tv deal. Bigger tv deals would mean higher salary cap which in turn means higher quality rosters. Keep going and u have a stronger more exciting MLS.
Well that’s certainly the idea yes… and why everybody with financial motives has always brought this up every few years…
Unfortunately there are no guarantees at all that the owners actually would put any new TV money back into the teams rather than keep it. And the advantage you describe in attracting players actually doesn’t really work in the long term. If I undestand correctly the whole FIFA idea is predicated on the idea that everybody will do it within a few years (we would be a bit of a guinea pig, but top leagues generally have to have the same rules to keep competition standardized). So once everybody implements, the advantage you describe in attracting talent would be negated as everybody would have this benefit. It might even get worse for MLS because of the low TV numbers… other nations would get a bigger benefit due to bigger audience.
Really it’s no different from any idea that makes money at the potential expense of the game. The idea makes money if it doesn’t alienate viewers. But that’s a serious “if” particularly if you are MLS– no commercials is an advantage here over other sports in theory, and MLS hasn’t really succeeded with TV enough to be making their product worse. The theory may be that the improved accuracy will be counterbalancing benefit, perhaps even outweighing this. Big gamble to me, but we’ll see (I hope we don’t actually, but that’s me).
I’m THIS close to just giving up on MLS all together. I’m sick and tired of of MLS trying to emulate the NFL rather than trying to be an actual proper footy league. For all the good he did in his first few years, Garber is an absolute disaster of a commish and driving the league down into obscurity. Garber MUST leave, or MLS will NEVER survive is naïveté about the sport. Replays. Just an HORRIBLE HORRIBLE idea only an NFL cronie of a commish would even consider. MLS, you’re F’ing joke.
Don’t let coaches challenge referee’s decisions. This will cause all kinds of problems, one being making refs look worse than they already sometimes do. The other making some coaches feel more important than they already do. Can you imagine Mourinho watching a video replay with a ref?
Replay should only be used to verify goals. Nothing else. Not questionable corners, throw-ins, or fouls. Let the referee and assistants continue to make those decisions. The referee and the assistants are mic’d up, and we watch replays on tv seconds after the play happens. Have a replay official contact a referee when a goal should be disallowed. For example, a referee allows a goal when replay shows there was offsides. Play is already stopped. The replay official lets the referee know there was offsides, and the game is restarted from where the offsides occurred. Same thing would occur if the ball goes in off an attacking players hand.
Combine this with goal-line technology. I don’t understand why FIFA hasn’t done this yet.
NOOOOOOOOOO
NO!
The ref is part of the game. A good ref makes the game a pleasure to watch. A poor (or unlucky) ref makes the game more difficult to watch. But the ref’s quick decision making is part of it.
I’m sure refs are judged and promoted/relegated based on how accurate their decisions are using replays after the match. That’s good enough.
BTW, people who complain about soccer officiating have probably never officiated a game and have no idea how difficult it is. US refs have some ways to go to reach European top flight standards but they are not too far off IMO. The quality varies but in time the US will have a good pool of qualified refs.
I have absolutely no problem with this if it is limited to two types of challenges, PK’s and Redcards. Why? some of the most egregious calls in the game come from referee’s being goaded into calls by theatrics and dives, which have become a bigger part of the game then ever. Before someone says “lets make the refs better”, i can come up with 10-15 games a year in ANY league that are decided by dubious theatrics of players, and i personally think it is one of the worst aspects of the sport. If anyone tells me that this part of “pure” soccer, then that is just sad.
About the argument that this will slow down play, during both those instances, there are at least 1-3 mins of players arguing with the ref, so I don’t get how this would change anything.
I might personally prefer post game review. So that players who flopped/violent actions/manipulation of the ball are carded and fined no matter what the ref deemed during the game. Because at this point you can get away with it pretty most of the time.
Good point about mass confrontation. With video of card a central video command center could communicate quickly weather a nasty tackle was truly a clear red card and confirm a call or change a red to yellow.
Case in point is espindolas red v ny. The ref had a poor view so espindola was ejected but it took easily over a minute to get off the field and longer to restart the game.
If this can significantly reduce dives and faking injury it would be a net positive, even with the associated delays.
While doing the video review will they stop the clock? love it, it’s only a matter of time before the sport becomes American. he he
the world will hate us for ruining football if this is taken to an nfl level
This is a great idea. Goal line technology – check! Disappearing spray – check! Video review of a very limited number of key plays (1-2 per half or even 1-2 per game) will help eliminate the poorest, game-changing referee decisions. Start with PKs, offside calls and red cards. The technology is there and it’s time to make this part of the game. Check!
I think cards, PKs and one protest per coach per half.
Maybe make the coach seriously consider a protest (so as to prevent time wasting) by awarding the other team something if his protest is lost? Maybe a PK awarded against his team?
I didn’t support it at first glance, but I HATE diving and how bad calls effect so many games, that I’m ready for some change. I’ve turned off many games due to diving, etc, and things like that chest kick in the 2010 final that wasn’t punished.
MLS needs to spend the time and effort on training or attracting quality referees. The number of ruined games by bad judgement calls (ie non reviewable) grossly outweighs anything video would do. If MLS can import foreign talent as players, why cant it import some quality refs?
correct me if I am wrong but aren’t all the refs from USSF and therefore registered in this country? I don’t know if refs can move to new countries without re-registering with a new federation or if that is an easy process that an investment could take care of..
developing refs is like developing players.. might take a generation or too. player development is taking off, slowly, but its not surprising the ref development is moving a bit slower.
I agree, but I’d suggest that the ref SuperDraft is the real problem… that,and the fact that we are still allowing our best refs to go to college, which is archaic. The best soccer refs should be going to top ref academies probably by age 7 like they do in Europe.
Of course, Klinsi promised us top refs by 2005 that officiated in a uniquely American style, but all we got this time was the same bunkering refs we’ve had since the stone age.
There is only one solution to go forward. Fire everybody.
Maybe they should invest the video review money into improving the quality of the referees.
NO.
Let technology catch up to the game to where it makes sense (goal line technology, maybe the use of google glass, etc.). Don’t force technology into the game, which will ruin the quality.
Also, mistakes are part of the game.
Again, NO.
Forget replay, I can’t stand ties. Lets say if the game ends in a tie we just have a penalty shootout to determine it. But, lets start the offensive player further back and let the goalie move off his line if he wants to. That would make it much better.
I wouldn’t mind if the MLS tried 0 points earned for a 0-0 tie. Encourage attacking football. Any tie above 0-0 give them a point.
how about a coin flip or a blind draw involving ping pong balls..
or we could just give the win to the lowest seeded team based on previous year’s results.
Blatter knew the Americans would bite. I wonder how much cash he will ask for.
Horrible idea. American Eggball and baseball are made for this sort of thing. They already have more breaks in action than action. Football is not. Eggball has about 11 minutes of action and takes more than 3 hours to watch. Don’t ruin football. I hate the water break rule too, BTW. It’s like they’re trying to make football like every other sport. It isn’t. That’s why its the greatest sport in the whole world!
agreed
I am fine with it. Realistically, what will it be used for? Whether a goal scorer was correctly called onsides (but not the reverse) and card/no card calls. Limit to 1 per half, and 2 mins per review. Heck on cards, you get 2 minutes of complaints anyway.
I would need more specifics before I ruled on what I think.
For instance:
Timing. It is unbelievable how slow it is in baseball and football. As is, click back 15 seconds on your TIVO, see the play, ok, I know what happened…5 mins later the refs make a decision.
This isn’t Fatball. The game moves on and that is one of the beauties.
What are they going to subject to review ? A ball going out of bounce ? Fouls ? Cards ?
Whether a goalie left early on a PK ? There are a thousand things they can review, most of them I say why ? Some of them seem unreviewable. IF you disagree watch a discussion board about a PK awarded. They can’t agree….at all.
BTW, my first inclination is like most on here….NO WAY.
id say that only goals and penalties, maybe red cards, should be review able and only 1x per match too.
if this becomes a regular occurance it would be a real shame, but reviewing a game deciding moment in an important game isn’t terrible.
Most of the NFL’s time is spent with the Referee running around.
First to the coach. Then to the monitor. A minute under the monitor. Then to the fod. Then probably back to a coach. Then spot the ball and play.
They’ve basically cut about 45 seconds out by having a command center queue up the best shot.
In soccer, there’d be a lot less running from one side to the other to talk to people. Challenges would be issued through the 4O. The R, 4O, and coaches probably meet between the technical areas while a TMO looks at it. 75-90 seconds, tops. Still less than the argy-bargy around PKs or RC.
Done right it could be useful, but there’s a lot of ways to mess it up.
You know, throughout history, I bet every old man probably said the same thing. And old men die, and the world keeps spinning.
Seriously. By the time most red cards are issued and most penalties are being taken, the entire world knows if the call was good or not. Why is the referee not allowed to see what everyone else already has? Calling off the kick or not giving a card would not affect the “flow” of the game. The flow is already interrupted by player protests and injury pauses, why not leverage that time?
Do we think this is aimed at diving and faking?
Or is the motivation more general than that?
MLS already does that reviewing every game after the fact and handing out suspensions.
Motivation is providing an excuse for commercial breaks, plain and simple.
Proabably not really a big item. Other than commercials, which is #1 by a mile, it would be preferred as a mechanism for more “clear” decisions such as boundary plays, though certainly you could say it would be used for dives, particularly those in the box (rather than yellow card infractions in midfield which would slow the game to a halt)
Slightly unrelated but was MLS the first/first league to utilize the spray for set-pieces?
Brazilian league? i think we were second
I thought it was Mexico first, but THAT was a good idea.
Agreed.
First time I saw it was last summer’s FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey, where the commentary team said that FIFA was using it as a trial for consideration on a greater scale… can’t say who jumped first after that, or whether anybody had been experimenting previously.
Talk about “stuff that could’ve been invented 20 years ago”. Yet another reason I am not wildly rich.
Why, why, why, why.
The MLS has come up with all these new ways to circumvent the main issue which is:
H O R R I B L E R E F E R R I N G !
They still haven’t fixed that, and its embarrassing that they have this review panel committee that overrides majority of the decisions that are/aren’t made.
If they don’t fix this, they should look at removing referees from the field, and assess everything after the game.
This is what makes it so hard to be an MLS fan. It’s always about the gimmicks first an football second.
With such atrocious refereeing in MLS should this guy be more worried about finding or training competent referees?
Dont be on then, but for pete sake quit whining.
Orrr, let’s not have games decided by horrible calls. If they can do this in a way that it is fairly quick, why would anyone be against it?
This sounds like a pretty terrible idea. Sounds more like MLS and FIFA is desperate for a way to shoehorn some commercial breaks into games. It didn’t take long for ESPN to start showing commercials during water breaks at the World Cup. If you’ve seen how they manage to take 5 minutes to confirm an obvious call in a baseball game or, even worse, the NFL refs under the hood watching endless replays, you’ll understand why this is not good for the game.
To be fair: the NFL’s centralized review has really sped up challenges this season.
For starters, even if I found out that my Galaxy would be dumped from the playoffs this year on a call that would have been reversible with replay, I would still be against this whole-heartedly. I don’t want commercials, lengthy game stoppages, and bs in soccer. It wouldn’t even be the same game anymore to me. It’s never quick… it can’t be. Every league who uses it has tried to make it faster (well, they “tried) but it never gets a moment quicker.
We are not the ones who need this. We would be guinea pigging a terrible idea that other countries need much more for financial reasons. If you think the “cooling breaks’ they slipped into the World Cup had much to do with FIFA suddenly developing a concern for human life, I’d say re-evaluate the possibility that maybe, just maybe, in-game commercials are the final frontier for the revenue grubbing, bankruptcy fearing global dinosaurs.
Let someobody else try this. Why us? We are trying to compete against other sporting leagues that have this…. it’s better as an advantage to say “we don’t do commercials” than to throw it away– and look at the NFL… high profile games are still decided on bs calls that didn’t get overturned anyway. The “Fail Mary” GB-SEA game is one recent example that everybody knows.
Sepp and Garber, and other suits, like this idea because they will be able to sell a tv commercial and bit more media attention at each instance.
i agree with most fans that don’t want to see the simple & beautiful game adultered and slowed down to the pace of an nfl game but i wouldn’t mind seeing some terrible calls overturned. Think Mo Edu’s goal vs Slovenia in 2010! maybe max 1 per game would be fine.
This would be a complete and utter disaster. TV time-outs are one step behind. Just say no. . .
They aren’t even one step behind, They are hiding on stilts inside the see-thui pantlegs of this unholy idea.
So, if there’s a quick restart after a call and if there isn’t a stoppage for another ten minutes, what happens if the call is overturned? Do they turn the clock back 10 minutes?
I’ll stick with crappy refs over this any day. I am only in favor of the instantaneous types of systems like goal line tech.
This should be around Issue # 563 on Garber’s to-do list. And it’s not such a great idea anyway. Goal-line technology is one thing; slowing the game down for some limited number of challenges is not going to make a dent in the “referee made an error” problem. Some errors won;t get overturned; many won’t even get challenged.
Do you think instituting this idea would make referees more likely to call a penalty inside the box, knowing they can be reviewed? At a glance, I see two problems with the act of calling fouls inside the box:
1) Diving often leads to erroneous decisions, I view this as more of a problem with the players (although I’m not sure that’s popular opinion).
2) Referees can be reluctant to award penalties, because of the decision’s magnitude on the game.
Now, I say they’d need to give out yellows for any dives they see on plays they reviewed (and fine). And it’d need to be a quick process, akin to reviewing a hockey goal (maybe a 3:00 limit). I think the right decision for penalties becomes apparent upon a couple of replays, but perhaps put some language into the rules stating that there needs to be conclusive evidence for an overturn.
An idea so bad it can only be from MLS.
Actually, the idea is not from MLS. It is happenning in one form or another in the near future and I expect MLS to be at the forefront of smart changes. Note the vanishing spray. Can’t believe we still have such haters of our domestic league!!!
Yev,
Ignore him or make fun of him. He is a troll.
Tell us again where you rank MLS in the world so we can have a real laugh
I agree, governor! MLS leaves me chuffed!
It’s footy! Not soccer! You crazy colonists!
Where’s the warm beer? The terraces? The Fish n’ Chips? The violence?
The 1966 Word Cup?
The Casuals?
The mods? The rockers?
Please!
See, here’s a man with a clear head on his shoulders
I NEED PROPER FOOTY CULTURE!
INDIAN TAKEAWAY!
CHIPS THAT ARE CALLED CRISPS!
FRIES THAT ARE CALLED CHIP!
UNATTRACTIVE PALE ENGLISH WOMEN!
NOW THAT’S FOOTBALL!!!!!
You forgot the Pukka Pies
That doesn’t the subjectivity out…
Are all offside call reviewed or only those that le(a)d to goals? Should the referee let them play on and then review?
It ends up being legalistic. Yes, some plays are overturned, but quite a few remain borderline and are decided based on some standard that favors the call on the ground. Many the challenge was unnecessary.
How about implementing some football in MLS first?
Tackle or flag?
If it can work anywhere it’s in the US. Not sure about the challenge system though, big calls like penalties and red cards are usually accompanied by long stoppages anyway so it always seemed odd an official in the “booth” couldn’t look at a replay and advise the referee.
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!
Let’s slow the game down to a crawl like baseball, football, basketball, etc. What’s next, unlimited subsitutions? Maybe send in guys just for free kicks? Please, leave it alone…
Think of all the delays from simulating injury etc. that would be reduced if video replay would show what a sham your injury is.
Won’t do a thing about guys pretending to be injuried. As for diving, start suspending guys after the fact 9whihc MLS does on occassion) and that takes care of that.
It would be tough to implement but would be needed, as many players are sent off for doing nothing warranting of it due to the “injured” player being a good actor, or vice versa where a player should have been sent off for an infraction not seen.
Very few actually . Maybe none. Because you’d have to go to replay to do it. And then there is the problem of guys who genuinely do get really hurt on plays with minimal contact. How does the referee really now in anything but the most egregious cases? And even then, he has to go to replay to do it.
I think the moment this is implemented by MLS, if it is the first league to do so, the rest of the world will say “oh, this is an American concept. what do they know about football/soccer anyways?” I mean, how long of a process was it to bring something as simple as goal-line technology to the World Cup?
Or they will use it as an excuse to adopt in-game commercials themselves. It doesnt’ really matter which, we are propping open the door for all sorts of vultures.
BARF!!! Then comes the Mountain Dew Commercials with that box in box Sh?t again…. No Thanks!!
Football, a bunch of people hit each other and eventually the guy with the ball falls down or scores. Play over. Repeat 100 or so times. You can go back and run a play review when each down is over and you’e not changing the way the game is played, just adding or extending breaks.
Ditto baseball, it’s pitch by pitch.
Soccer is supposed to be a flowing game and one downside to that is tough goalline or offsides calls, then play continues on for seconds or minutes. What if play continues half a minute while the possession is fought out in the box after a ball bounced down near the goalline?
I prefer having a line technology and a ref buzzer where the tech buzzes him if he missed a goal. You can then stop play if you want to count the goal under the fiction that play should have stopped when the goal was scored. But I really don’t think it’s great for soccer for people to be standing around waiting for an artificial play stoppage while a guy in a booth decides.
About the only things you could really review are offside goals, whether or not a spot-kick foul really DOES need to get a guy put on the line or not, and whether or not a red card offense really was a red card offense…but those are things that really need to be gotten right anyway, and video review offers a pretty comprehensive solution.
How many teams get jobbed – and the results of entire matches – are decided by a 1-2 highly questionable ref decisions that video review would have corrected?
Let’s get it right. It can only improve the game.
If you treat a review as a substitution and use it for only reviews of red card offenses and plays that result in a penalty kick, I think you maintain the integrity of the game. Plus, you limit it to three challenges per match and if the play stands you burn a substitute, you’ve controlled the use of it during a match.
If I had a dime for every time American football has given me an assurance like this….
You really wanna let the wolves in the door? This is the end of commercial-free soccer. And it won’t stop here… this is just breaking the seal.
I’d love to see more accuracy. Who wouldn’t? But this newest Sepp Blatter Joint is not worth the price tag and it’s not a panacea at all… fans will still feel jobbed somewhere every weekend and it won’t be long before people start gaming replay… even the refs. For example, you’ll see a lot more penalties whistled, because it’s easier for a referee to call it and then review it than let it go. Will it really help? How many debates do we have on here about what is and isn’t a penalty, even after watching a play from every conceivable angle 22 times. It’s still hugely subjective…
I wanna walk right past every idea Sepp comes up with to “improve the game” at this game… it’s all an excuse for something else and the body count is high enough.. I like soccer. I love it actually. It’s perfect right now even with its little flaws. I’m willing to watch my team lose rather than see MLS give birth to global super-parasite. A very easy decision for me. Even when I think of the worst-of-the-worst examples (i.e. when this happens to our USMNT boys), I would still suck it up and take the universally hated “it all evens out in the end” explanation, although I might punch a hole in the wall and curse flames at everybody I meet for the next week
We’ve already got stoppages any time a player falls down. I hope video replay is used to catch divers. Penalizing divers for faking will save WAY more time and improve the flow of games significantly more than video replays will slow things down. Especially if another ref is added to the sideline to monitor potential instances, and chime in only when the center ref requests clarification. Instances like this usually already result in play stoppage while the ref calms things down, talksto players, consults the linesman, etc.
If MLS does it right, a coach can request a video replay at any time, but for each request the requesting team looses a player swap. So if a coach requests video review on a play in the 30′, for the rest of the game he/she can only change 2 players. If that same coach requests another video review in the 70′, then they’ve got just 1 change left. Of course the ref can review any time they need to. That what us like to see. Punish divers and make video review requests VERY costly.
Cool! Can we get time outs for commercials every 5 minutes also? Can’t stand 45 min of no commercials. It’s downright un-American.
Terrible idea. The only place I think replay has in Soccer is at halftime and immediately after the game for diving.
If the Ref wants to replay a penalty or foul given to see if he was duped by a dive then he can retro-actively give a yellow card. If that means a second yellow, then the player / team lives with the red from that point on.
There is no way four challenges a game will benefit the game.