This video replay incident shows the good and bad of the new technology in soccer
For the first time, Australia’s top flight has used video replay for a game-changing decision, and it shows the good and the bad of the new technology.
On Saturday, Wellington Phoenix centerback Marco Rossi deflected a cross in the box with his hand, denying Sydney FC a scoring opportunity. The on-field referees missed it and the game carried on — but at the next stoppage, a video assistant referee, or VAR, reviewed the play. The result was a penalty kick for Sydney FC, that allowed them to take an early lead:
https://streamable.com/bmdg1
It took only about a minute for the decision as the on-field referee deferred to the video assistant referee in the video booth, which has been the fastest video replay system tried around the world thus far. The video replay also got the call right, which is the ultimate goal of having VARs.
But the use of video replay also clearly changed the flow of the match — the match had moved beyond the initial play and the referee called the action back to the other end of the field for a penalty kick. While Phoenix were called offside on their counterattack, if they had scored on the counterattack, canceling the goal and calling the play back would’ve probably been even more controversial.
Had Phoenix scored on the counterattack, letting their goal stand would've been equally controversial. Sydney would've had an argument that the handball should've stopped play and prevented the counterattack from happening in the first place.
If play had continued and didn't stop for a while after the handball, it might’ve resulted in an even longer lag before the penalty kick was awarded. What if, in that time, someone was red carded for a dangerous tackle, for instance? Would the red card still stand, even as the play was called back? Or would it be canceled the way a goal might be pulled back?
There are still a lot of questions about VAR and retroactively trying to correct the officiating is going to lead to blurry lines about what should or shouldn't be affected. But one thing is for sure: In the A-League’s first use of the technology, it ultimately got the final call right.
MORE FROM FOX SOCCER
