For the final two windows of World Cup qualifying, Concacaf has introduced another element to the competition. Despite going eight of 14 matchdays without video assistant referees, the region announced Wednesday that the final six will indeed feature VAR capability, adding another layer of potential officiating and call-correction to the proceedings after ironing out the personnel and infrastructure issues that prevented it from being implemented in the first place.
Making a change as significant as that over halfway into a qualifying tournament doesn't come without criticism. After all, why should certain games—the majority, even—be subjected to one set of rules and possibilities, while others, especially the ones later in the competition that will be more decisive in determining the nations that go to Qatar, are not?