HARRISON, N.J. — In an empty Red Bull Arena, a group of teenage soccer players scrimmaged under the watch of a FIFA referee. They defended. They attacked. They scored.
But tactics were not the main focus of Wednesday’s exhibition. Rather, under instructions to create difficult calls for the match’s referee, the players also roamed freely offside, played the ball when it went out of bounds and, in at least one instance, handled it deliberately to prevent a goal.
The game was organized by the International Football Association Board, the organization that administers the rules of soccer, as one of the first live tests of a proposed video replay system for the sport.