CARSON, Calif. – LA Galaxy head coach and general manager Bruce Arena told LAGalaxy.com on Thursday that he disagreed with remarks made by MLS VP of Competition, Jeff Agoos, regarding the officiating during the Galaxy’s 2-2 draw with New York Red Bulls last weekend.
“It's been four days since the game, and the league was unable to accurately review the play,” stated Arena. “The play in question comes off a player (Veron) being in an offside position on a flick pass from Grella. Therefore, a review of a penalty is null and void. In advancing the concept of video reviews, I simply ask- will we have people with the experience and knowledge of the game to make accurate decisions in a one minute timeline? In this case, they had four days and got it wrong.”
Speaking to MLSsoccer.com, Agoos stated that league office determined that several officiating mistakes occurred during the match, including two missed penalty kicks for the Red Bulls. The league’s disciplinary committee suspended Galaxy midfielder Jeff Larentowicz one game on Thursday for second half foul on Damien Perrinelle.
“In the case of Larentowicz, it was a hard tackle. Our sport is physical and the referee sets the tempo and rhythm of the game. The game vs. NYRB was at times fast and physical," Arena said. "The referee clearly saw the play and issued a caution. That is how he was interpreting the game in its entirety. In our game, tackles can create an injury and that is all a part of the game.”
Agoos went on to conclude that both penalties would have been awarded under a video replay system that the league is seeking to implement within the next two years. Arena responded to the comments, stating if video replay were in effect, the Veron penalty kick decision would still not have been made.
“The comments by league officials are inappropriate, and if we actually review the tape on one of the penalty kick decisions that they believe were inaccurate, you could see that the player was clearly offside, and the penalty decision is a moot point,” Arena told LAGalaxy.com.
Late in the Galaxy’s draw with New York, the Red Bulls appealed for penalties on two separate occasions after Galaxy ‘keeper Brian Rowe collided with Alex Muyl and Gonzalo Veron in the box, but Grajeda chose not to whistle either play for a foul. Red Bulls head coach Jesse Marsch was ejected from the contest following the Veron non-call.
In his interview with the league website, Agoos stated that “video review would have allowed for the review of these non-calls.”
Major League Soccer is striving to become one of the first leagues in the world to test FIFA’s new video assistant referee program in the coming years. The program will allow the head official to consult with video on goal decisions, penalty kick appeals, direct card incidents, and cases of mistaken identity.
As the league moves forward with new technology, Arena warns that there are “positives and negatives” with the implementation of video replay in soccer.
“I think there are positives and negatives. In the example of the questionable penalty call on Veron, a review would indicate that he was offside. However, playback technology is a tricky proposition given the split second nature of sports,” Arena said.
“A review would say no penalty because he’s offside. Now are we reviewing offside as well? We’re opening up a whole can of worms. We have to be very careful as we introduce this type of technology and fully understand how it may impact games.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog atLAGalaxy.com/Insiderand contact him atLAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com.
