Orlando, FL – May 17, 2015 – Orlando Citrus Bowl: Kaka (10) of Orlando City Soccer Club during a regular season game
(Photo by Scott Clarke / ESPN Images)
One week into Major League Soccer implementing the Video Assistant Referee system has resulted in a decision that left even the player whose team benefited from it to speak out in protest.
Orlando SC’s Kaká was shown a straight red card in stoppage time with his team trailing by two goals when his only mistake seemed to be to try to ease tensions following a brief skirmish that had broken out between his teammates and the New York Red Bulls.
Kaká in what the team described as a “playful interaction” grabbed the face of former teammate Aurélien Collin, who played for Orlando SC last season before moving on to the Red Bulls. The official on the field, however, reviewed the action on a sideline monitor and ultimately issued a red card to Kaká. On the MLS Twitter account, it was deemed that Kaká was sent off for “violent conduct.”
When the match official indicated that Kaká was red carded due to the grabbing of Collin’s face, incredulous Orlando SC players even waved over Collin to have him explain the interaction. Collin appeared to oblige, but the call wasn’t changed. After the match, he tweeted at the MLS as well in defense of Kaká.
The Video Assistant Referee in MLS is considered the fifth member of the officiating crew located in a booth at each stadium with access to broadcast replays, enabling the head referee to receive assistance on missed incidents.
MLS had tested the VAR initiative in experiments during preseason games and had referees attend VAR-specific training camps and workshops before fully rolling out the system. Ultimately, there is a human element involved in the decision-making that uses technology.
In this case, Kaká and Collin — friends on opposing teams — disagreed with the red card as did a color analyst in the video clip that MLS tweeted.
“This is where all the technology in the world shouldn’t supersede intent,” he said. “The letter of the law is hands to the face, it’s a red card. That’s correct. That’s the letter of the law. But this clearly was done among friends. Do you follow the letter of the law, or do you use human emotion to understand it?
“I think this is the wrong use, the wrong outcome.”
