The Definitive Angle: MLS Week 32
The Definitive Angle is PRO’s analysis of the week’s Video Review use in MLS.
Week 32 overview
There were two Video Reviews during Week 32.
MIA vs CIN: Review for goal (offside in the APP) – not given
What Happened: A goal was scored by Lewis Morgan (MIA) and the VAR saw that Gonzalo Higuaín (MIA) had been in an offside position in the APP when the ball was played long to him by goalkeeper Nick Marsman (MIA).
Although Higuaín didn’t touch or play the ball, he clearly interfered with an opponent when he positioned himself so that defender Caleb Stanko (CIN) was unable to challenge for the ball, which then ran loose to Morgan. An interchange of passes then took place between Morgan and Higuaín, which led to Morgan scoring.
After looking at the footage at the RRA screen, the referee disallowed the goal.
On-field decision: Goal.
Type of review: No goal – offside.
Final decision after review: Offside.
Length of review: 3:20.
PRO’s Opinion: This was a correct intervention to rectify a clear and obvious error.
LA vs DAL: Review for red card (violent conduct) – given
What Happened: A direct freekick was awarded to FC Dallas for a foul in midfield and after the whistle, the ball ran loose and was picked up by Chicharito (LA), who was then confronted by Emmanuel Twumasi (DAL), who tried to grab the ball back from Chicharito. In the process of doing so, the right hand of Twumasi made negligible contact with the left ear of Chicharito, who then turned to his right and appeared to make accidental head-to-head contact with Jáder Obrian (DAL) who had arrived on the scene.
After this contact with Obrian, Chicharito went to ground, holding his face in a manner which suggested it was the latter contact that he reacted to, rather than the minimal contact to his left ear from Twumasi. From his position on the field of play, the referee deemed that Twumasi was guilty of violent conduct and, as such, he issued with a red card.
The VAR saw what was, at most, negligible contact from Twumasi, and he deemed the issuing of the red card as a clear and obvious error. After Video Review, the referee rescinded his red card decision and replaced it with a yellow card for lack of respect for the game.
On-field decision: Red card (violent conduct).
Type of review: No red card.
Final decision after review: Yellow card (lack of respect for the game).
Length of review: 3:45.
PRO’s Opinion: The contact was negligible and is referenced in the Laws of the Game as falling short of violent conduct. The reaction of Chicharito was not consistent with the amount of contact/force used by Twumasi and appeared to be more in relation to the subsequent contact with Obrian. This was a credible use of the Video Review system.