(Editorial)- We all know what happened on Thursday. If you don’t think officiating had a direct impact on the outcome of the game between Seattle Sounders FC and Sporting KC, you’re wrong. Yes, Sporting KC should’ve finished their chances. However, that game would’ve been in extra time if a call had been made correctly. Referees are faced with difficult decisions that must be made in split seconds. In big matches, such as a single game elimination phase in the postseason, those decisions are amplified. The wrong one could potentially end a teams season. In the USL, they’ve used video replay plenty of times to overturn, or confirm calls. Last night’s issues clearly show it’s time for instant replay in Major League Soccer.

MLS Instant Replay: The Time Has Come

I do not claim to be a Sporting KC fan. But I was pretty livid at what took place last night. You have one play, where Ozzie Alonso left his feet and made a two-footed tackle. That is the textbook definition of “violent conduct” and “endangering the safety of an opponent.” If you commit a challenge that falls in that category, you get a straight red card. That’s the laws of the game. The law even leaves room for the fact that the tackle doesn’t even need to make contact! If you can harken back to Manchester City vs. Manchester United a few seasons back, Vincent Kompany was sent off for a challenge that never made contact with the player. The nature of it was so violent though, that he was correctly given a straight red card. Alonso should’ve seen red last night.

Also, you literally have no argument that Nelson Valdez was onside. It was clear and obvious, even more glaring than Matt Besler‘s offside call. For the record, I believe the Besler call was made correctly. He never established himself in an onside position prior to the restart. However, Valdez was clearly offside.

Difficult Decisions

Games like Thursday night’s are extremely difficult to officiate. Physical battles, in bad weather, where both teams seasons ride on them not giving an inch to the other. They’re extremely tough to manage as a referee. The ones who can do so deserve to get the big games. Ismail Elfath is not one of those referees. However, if there was a system in place that allowed officials the second chance to get the call right, then why not use it? Especially with matches like these where after the final whistle, one team’s season is over.

The USL has been utilizing instant replay this year, and it has worked to good effect. MLB finally instituted instant replay and a challenge system to combat human error in the adjudicating of the game. It has worked pretty darn good too. Yes, sometimes it looks like they still get it wrong. But for the most part, the wrong calls get corrected. Take for example, this double play in the 2014 World Series, Game 7. The initial call was safe at first, but after replay, the correct call was made. If that overturned call hadn’t been made, the outcome of the game could’ve been completely different.

For the Purists

For the Purists, their argument is simply the human element is what makes the game so great. That I have no problem with. That’s a valid statement. However, when the game started, whether you thought the call was wrong, there was no way of going back to see. What was called only got the first look. With the ability to do instant replay, with all the angles available now, we see the mistakes. It’s clear, and it’s frustrating for fans, players, and coaches alike. With the ability to get it right through instant replay, it’s evening out the playing field, making the game more fair. Bad calls wouldn’t disappear, but at least something could be done to rectify them. Now? Your left with Coaches calling for the league to apologize to them for their season being wrongly terminated.

“I will tell you, in my opinion, and for our organization, I think that PRO and Major League Soccer owe our club an absolute apology because this game was taken away from us today.” -pETER vermes

Even Seattle’s head coach talked about instant replay. Brian Schmetzer‘s side clearly benefitted from the dubious calls on Thursday night. While his response was more of a “I really can’t take a side because it benefitted me this time” type answer, he still discussed instant replay being the only way to really combat officiating determining the outcome of a match.

‘Here’s the deal with that. I’m going to answer this as honestly as I can. We always control the controllables. So, whatever Pete says, that’s his business, I can’t address that. What I can address is that this league is a tough league. Until there’s some form of instant replay, where we can go back and make calls correctly. Whatever the opposing team, fans, whatever they say…emotional moment, whatever he’s trying to get at, I can’t control that. The fact of the matter is, referees have a tough job, they also make mistakes, and we live and die sometimes by their calls.’’

This quote was in response to a question about Peter Vermes saying Schmetzer told him that Alonso deserved a red card. “Until there’s some form of instant replay where we can go back and make calls correctly..” is the part I’m getting at.

Final Thoughts

The game shouldn’t be decided by human error. We have developed technology to a point where we can eliminate that as much as possible. Robot-Referees, and Robot-Umpires are not the answer. However, the use of instant replay is. Soccer laws are quite straightforward. Unlike the NFL’s ever changing definition of a catch, forward progress or anything like that, the core rules of soccer haven’t changed much recently. With video replay, it can give the referee a second chance to get his call correct. That’s the most important thing. Getting it right. For the benefit of fans, players, coaches, and owners, let’s get it right. It’s time for instant replay in MLS.