Not even Howard Webb, the general manager of the Professional Referee Organization, could tell if LAFC’s Carlos Vela was knocked down by Atlanta United’s Franco Escobar inside or outside the penalty box in last week’s game.
Webb, who has refereed the championship game of a World Cup and Champions League final, said that Vela was definitely fouled by Escobar, whose body made contact with Vela’s hip and thigh. He said the contact on the foot made by Miles Robinson was insignificant and outside the box. LAFC won the game 4-3. The foul against Vela, and the subsequently penalty kick in the 42nd minute, gave LAFC a 3-1 lead.
“When you watch the video, it’s really, really difficult to be sure where it takes place,” Webb said on Tuesday. “It could be outside. It could be just over the line. It’s not that conclusive. It gave the VAR a bit of a dilemma. We say to the VARs, the on-field decision is taken, consider that to be the correct decision unless you have evidence, not just a hunch or a feel. If you are going to send it to the referee, you have to send an answer. You can’t send him a dilemma.”
That inability for the VAR, Tim Ford, to decide if referee Ismail Elfath had made a clear and obvious error is why Elfath didn’t review the play on one of the monitors on the field.
“It really is tight,” Webb said. “Can is say it’s 100 percent in the penalty area? No. Can i say it’s 100 percent outside? No.”
Atlanta United supporters and a few players also thought Vela was offside on his team’s second goal, which came on a pass to Diego Rossi in the 38th minute.
Again, Webb said there wasn’t enough video evidence for the Ford to think that the Assistant Referee had made a clear and obvious error in not putting his flag up to signal offside.
Webb said that MLS is currently testing offside technology in some stadiums. He didn’t say what year that technology could be used. He said a cost-benefit ratio analysis is being analyzed. To have offside technology would requires more cameras in every stadium.
The technology would put lines across the field that could be used by broadcasters to show the last defender. Some leagues in Europe do have the technology.
“We will only do it if we think it’s able to give clarity on enough situations and not just a small sub-section,” Webb said.
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