Major League Soccer and the Professional Referee Organization (PRO) announced Monday that live, in-game testing of video assistance for referees is being conducted during select MLS preseason games.
Video Assistant Referee (VAR) testing employs video technology with the aim of reducing referee errors in the following four, game-changing situations:
- Goals
- Penalty kick decisions
- Direct red card incidents
- Cases of mistaken identity.
MLS Commissioner Don Garber announced VAR during his 2016 State of the League press conference. MLS will now take steps to implement VAR into select regular season matches during the second half of 2017, following the 2017 MLS All-Star Game on Aug.