Many gains of Video Assist Ref!

So Fifa have relented and allowed us downtrodden, heavily criticised, browbeaten, vilified, and constantly under pressure referees to have some assistance at last.

The Video Assistant Referees System (VARS) was used recently at the Club World Cup when Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai used the device for the first time to award Kashima Antlers from Japan a penalty in their semifinal against Atletico National from Colombia.

It is widely reported that the Major League Soccer (MLS) in the USA will also apply to use it in next season’s games. MLS Commissioner Don Garber made the announcement as part of his annual State of the League address on the eve of the MLS Cup final.

They will trial it for the first part of their season with every intention of implementing it fully for the second half of the season.

The Video Assistant Referee initiative, as outlined by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) which oversees the Laws of the game, consists of an additional referee positioned in a booth with technology that allows access to video at a finger’s touch from every available camera angle.

The MLS are at the forefront of this new experiment, having been selected along with five other leagues around the world to conduct video replay testing in a series of competitive matches held at the Red Bull Arena in New York City.

The other countries are Australia, Brazil, Germany, Portugal and the Netherlands.

This is and was a truly historic moment in football.

The incident that prompted the use of the VAR happened when Antlers defender Daigo Nishi was bundled over in the penalty area by Orlando Berrio of Atletico. The offence was not initially spotted by the officials in this last-four encounter.

However, the referee stopped the game to consult the pitchside monitor and, having reviewed the incident, awarded the penalty to Kashima Antlers, which was converted by Shoma Doi.

It was very noticeable that there were little or no complaints from the Atletico players when clarification was confirmed that it definitely was a penalty.

So, where to from here.

Well it’s absolutely imperative that the system, which has now been tested and is available, is introduced in as many games as possible. By that I mean it should not only be for major games like premier leagues.

I understand that the costs are probably quite high but when you see the cost to a team of losing a game, which could result in that team being relegated to a lower division, it’s a no brainer.

When you see the impact on a team that loses, or wins, and the costs in financial terms of being promoted or demoted you can see the need for it.

When you see the cost in human lives where referees have been badly assaulted and even killed because of decisions they have given, or not given, it’s a no brainer once again that this system needs to be implemented as soon as is humanly possible.

I have to admit that I wasn’t always be in favour of such gadgets, but now I’m totally convinced and won over that this is the way to go. We can also use it to cite players who deliberately and knowingly cheat and dive to try and hoodwink the referee.

Bring it on Fifa and lets expose the real cheats once and for all!