The Definitive Angle: NWSL Week 9
The Definitive Angle is PRO’s analysis of the week’s Video Review use in NWSL.
Week 9 overview
There were four Video Reviews during Week 9.
HOU vs POR: No penalty
What happened: After review, there was no tripping offense by Houston #15 [Bárbara Olivieri] on Portland #13 [Olivia Moultrie].
The final decision was a drop ball [to Houston Dash].
Length of review: 3:15
PRO’s opinion: While doing a good job of avoiding upper-body contact, Olivieri (HOU) made contact with Moultrie’s (POR) left leg with her left leg. Despite this lower-body contact being accidental, Olivieri tripped Moultrie, and the outcome should have been a penalty kick. This was an unnecessary review.
Prior to the challenge, a head injury was sustained by a Houston Dash defender and PRO would have preferred that the game was stopped immediately for this incident.
KC vs LOU: Yellow card for reckless challenge
What happened: After review, Kansas City #18 [Izzy Rodriguez] made glancing contact with Louisville #7 [Savannah DeMelo] on the thigh. There was no excessive force, and this was not serious foul play.
The final decision was a yellow card was issued to Kansas City #18 for a reckless challenge. Play restarted with direct free kick [to Racing Louisville].
Length of Review: 2:10
PRO’s opinion: Rodriguez (KC) played the ball in the air with her right leg just before DeMelo (LOU) arrived in the same space. Rodriguez then made contact with her studs on DeMelo’s thigh as she brought her right foot down after fairly playing the ball. Her leg was bent, which lowered the force of this contact, and the referee correctly analyzed all considerations and issued a yellow card for a reckless challenge.
What happened: After review, Louisville #9 [Kayla Fischer] stepped on the top of the foot of Kansas City #16 [Vanessa DiBernardo] inside the penalty area.
The final decision was penalty kick [to Kansas City Current].
Length of Review: 2:05
PRO’s opinion: DiBernardo (KC) approached Fischer (LOU) from her blind side and managed to get a good position in relation to the ball. Fischer then reached out with her right foot in the direction of the ball and stepped on DiBernardo’s left foot. This was a clear foul and an efficient use of the Video Review system to rectify a clear and obvious error.
What happened: After review, Orlando #22 [Barbra Banda] was in an offside position during the build-up to the goal by Orlando #3 [Kylie Strom]. Orlando #22 then interfered with play when she touched the ball.
The final decision was offside and an indirect free kick [to Seattle Reign].
Length of Review: 1:56
PRO’s opinion: The referee was correct to disallow the goal scored by Strom (ORL) because Banda (ORL) committed an offside offense when she interfered with play and touched the ball before Strom scored. This was a good, efficient use of the Video Review system to disallow a goal for an offside situation.
Please note: These videos do not contain audio. They are a recording of the screen as viewed by the VAR in real-time.