MLS, USL get go ahead for Video Assistant Referee trials

Major League Soccer and North American third-tier division, the United Soccer League (USL), have been granted approval by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) for trials in the usage of video review.

Live Video Assistant Referee (VAR) experiments will be conducted in competitive USL matches before season's end, kicking off with Friday's match between New York Red Bulls II and Orlando City B in Harrison, New Jersey.

The IFAB, the governing body of the laws of association football, held a VAR workshop last month at Red Bull Arena.

"During the last workshop, we received significant feedback from the participating competition organizers from across the world," IFAB Secretary Lukas Bird told Simon Borg of mlssoccer.com.

Implementing VAR technologies involves employing an additional referee positioned in a pitch-side booth and provided with a host of camera angles. From there, the referee can alert his match official colleague of any number of four "game changing" calls: mistaken identity, penalty decisions, direct red cards, and goals.

"We believe that these additional tests will enable us to refine the experiment protocols and implementation procedures which are key to the success of the forthcoming trials," Bird said.

MLS was chosen as one of six leagues worldwide to implement the experimental video technology, with initial plans for a two-year period of trials

"The intention is for IFAB to make a decision in 2018 or 2019 on whether or not video assistant referees should be introduced in football," a statement from the IFAB read.