It turns out that the controversial penalty awarded to the Columbus Crew when they played New York City FC on June 14 should not have been awarded.
At least that is the official opinion of the Professional Referees Organization, better known as PRO. In their latest edition of Inside Video Review (MLS #20), which was published today, they analyze a play in which New York City’s Hannes Wolf pushes Columbus Crew’s Mohamed Farsi as they fight for position at the mouth of the goal. Referee Alexis Da Silva allowed the match to continue, but VAR referee Sorin Stoica called for a delay and argued that a penalty should be awarded. PRO now says it was a mistake. According to Greg Barkey, PRO director of video review, “the original no-penalty call is not a clear error, one that VAR should not have intervened in.”
But the VAR did intervene. The penalty was called, and Cucho Hernández converted it. It turned out to be the triumph for Columbus.
While the result cannot be overturned, the Inside Video Review clip is worth watching in its entirety.
It begins with Stoica speaking clearly into the microphone, asking about different angles of the work. It unfolds in real time, as Stoica asks for a delay and narrates in detail what she sees.
Surprisingly, Stoica intends to present a case to da Silva. Not only is he drawing the referee’s attention to the play, he is sure that he sees a foul and calls for a penalty.
At the beginning of the clip, Da Silva can be heard saying it was “light contact.” But Stoica ignores what the referee says to build a case.
“I just see it going too easy,” Da Silva.
“Okay, it’s your decision, but this is a push in the back, the defender has no option to play the ball,” says Stoica.
“Do I have bad behavior?” Da Silva asks.
“I don’t see any misconduct,” Stoica responds.
But in the end, Da Silva agrees with Stocia and concedes the penalty.
Barkey, the PRO video review manager, explains in the video that while there was certainly a push on Wolf’s part, there was also “some embellishment of the contact” on Farsi’s part. Da Silva was right when he said the Columbus player was “going too easy,” which made the original decision correct.
Now we see that three mistakes were made.
First, it’s not clear if it was a foul in the first place. While Stocia was sure he saw a foul, Barkey states that “while some would see a pushing foul worthy of a penalty, others would find the challenge lame and exaggerated on the Farsi’s part.”
Secondly, Stoica did not accept Da Silva’s authority as the main referee of the match. Da Silva claimed at least twice that Farsi was too easy to accept, but Stoica did not acknowledge those remarks. He insisted it was foul and even became a little passive-aggressive. When Stocia said, “Okay, it’s your decision, but this is a push in the back,” he actually said, “Okay, you’re the boss even if you’re wrong.”
Ultimately, Da Silva failed to assert his authority over the game. He was the main referee, not Stoica, but he was influenced by the VAR team. As we noted in the game recap, Da Silva coached only eight MLS games in his entire career before this game, and perhaps his inexperience came into play by allowing Stoica’s arguments to override what he saw. in the countryside.
A more confident referee would have taken the VAR’s suggestions into account and allowed the match to continue.
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