Earlier today, PRO Referees released the Inside Video Review for Matchday 7, and the penalty awarded last Sunday to New York City FC striker Alonso Martínez was one of the five plays that made the cut for extra analysis.
According to Greg Barkey, Manager of Video Review, Martínez was correctly awarded a penalty by referee Sergii Boiko in the game against Minnesota United played on Sunday, April 6: Minnesota's Michael Boxall ran through Martínez, preventing him from playing the ball inside the penalty box. But that was only after VAR referee Timothy Ford spent more than four minutes dissecting the play, reviewing the clip an astonishing 42 times, and overstepped his authority by incorrectly insisting that Boiko overturn the call on the field.
In other words, Ford did everything he could to get Boiko to make a mistake. Boiko was right, Ford was wrong, but Ford spent more than four minutes trying to get his way.
Why was this harmful? Two reasons. One, Ford is overstepping his authority as VAR referee: He is there to support the referee, not try to override him. Two, that ridiculously long delay completely threw off the rhythm of the game: When play finally resumed, Martínez's penalty shot caromed off the bar in a game New York City went on to lose.
Ford's fixation not only interrupted the game, it arguably shaped its outcome.
First, let's look at Ford's overreach. The benchmark for a VAR is if the on-field referee makes a "clear and obvious" error for a "match-changing" incident. That's the official terminology of the "Video Review Glossary" published by Major League Soccer.
What is a "clear and obvious" error per MLS? It "is a blatant, incorrect officiating decision." It's when you miss an obvious handball, or think you see a handball where there was none. VAR exists to prevent blunders, not to litigate every Here is the full text of the MLS rule:
Clear and Obvious Error
A clear and obvious error is a blatant, incorrect officiating decision. During a Video Review, the question asked by referees will be: "Was the referee’s original decision clearly wrong?" as opposed to "Was the decision correct?"
Was Boiko's original call "blatant" and "incorrect," one that was "clearly wrong?" The answer to that question is objectively no: Boiko stuck by his decision, and the video review Barkey released today backs him up.
Instead, it seems that Ford was challenging if "the decision was correct" and second-guessing Boiko. By the rules of MLS, that doesn't meet the standard of a clear and obvious error that would warrant a VAR review – never mind one that lasted that long – and that arguably disrupted the flow of the game.
You can watch the VAR review here, and listen to the unedited exchange between Boiko and Ford:
Inside Video Review: Matchday 7
New York City FC vs Minnesota United
On the face of it, there was no harm. Boiko's call stood, and Martínez was given the penalty.
But Ford reviewed the clip 42 times – 10 of those were frame-by-frame – which forced Martínez to wait for four minutes, or close to 10% of the 45-minute half. When play finally resumed, Martínez's penalty shot caromed off the bar. You can't put that miss on the officiating. But Ford's VAR overreach unquestionably intruded into the match, and seemingly ignored the standards that MLS established when they introduced VAR to the league.
The only "clear and obvious" error we can see is Ford's long, drawn-out VAR review of a call he didn't like.
