MLS Vancouver Timbers Soccer

In this May 2016 file photo, the referee issues a red card to Vancouver Whitecaps defender Kendall Watson during the second half of an MLS Soccer game against the Portland Timbers. MLS will be unveiling video review later this season in certain potential game-changing situations, including the issuing of red cards.

(Steve Dykes/AP Photo)

Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber has long been a proponent of using video replay to assist referees in soccer and MLS has been in the forefront in running tests to determine the viability of using video technology in the Beautiful Game.

Now, the league is ready to take an historic step as it rolls out video review in MLS regular season games for the first time after this summer's MLS All-Star break.

"We're encouraged by what we've been seeing in the tests," Garber said. "We're going to continue to work out all the details and try to roll it out in full form after the All-Star break. Hopefully, if it works, we're going to have it for a long time."

Major League Soccer was selected last June by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) and FIFA to be one of six leagues around the world to run trials with the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) initiative over a two-year period. The video technology is only being used in four potentially game-changing situations to help referees reduce errors around goals, penalty decisions, red cards and cases of mistaken identity.

MLS and the United Soccer League conducted video replay tests during official USL games last August and MLS rolled out video replay for select games in this year's preseason. The league plans to continue testing out the program behind the scenes at all 22 MLS venues over the next six months before officially using the technology in regular season games after the 2017 MLS All-Star Game.

"VAR was successfully tested in preseason," Garber said. "But we're not in a rush. We have to get it right."

When it comes to video replay, soccer has lagged behind other major sports. All the other major leagues in the United States - the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB - already use some form of video technology to review select plays.

But that could change dramatically in the next few years. FIFA President Gianni Infantino said last April that he would like to see video replay implemented at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, assuming that the tests being run this year continue to be successful.

"It's a very difficult game to officiate," said Portland Timbers owner Merritt Paulson, who is on a Major League Soccer committee that has been involved in the league's video replay discussions. "The fact that technology is available that can make the official's job easier and help us get decisions right and promote equitable results is huge."

Paulson and the Timbers saw firsthand in preseason what video replay could look like in action when Diego Chara was a shown a red card and sent off after a video review during a game against Real Salt Lake in February.

During the video review process, MLS has had a remote referee watching the game and communicating observations with the center referee through a headset. The center referee has been given the discretion to review the video himself on a monitor on the sideline and ultimately make a decision on the call.

The review surrounding Chara's red card was somewhat abnormal and took longer than anticipated because referee Stoica Sorin was both reviewing whether a red card was deserved, as well as whether the foul had been committed inside the box. Fans booed Sorin during the delay as he watched the replay on a monitor on the sideline, but ultimately he got the call right.

"I think in theory if they get it cleaned up, it will hopefully limit mistakes," said Timbers coach Caleb Porter at the time. "I think if you ask any coach, we're going to want the right calls. I think if they can limit the time it takes to make those decisions -- We certainly don't want it to be a choppier game, but we definitely want to get big calls right."

All eyes will be on Major League Soccer when it becomes one of the first leagues in the world to roll out video replay in competitive games later this summer. While it is likely that there will still be a few kinks to iron out when MLS unveils the new program, the league is continuing to work to refine the system to ensure that it works effectively and doesn't significantly disrupt the flow of the game.

MLS might be taking a lead role in embracing the new technology, but video replay could be on the cusp of becoming commonplace in soccer worldwide.

"At every high level of soccer, I would expect use of video review to be the norm," Paulson said. "I'd be shocked if it wasn't. It's the right thing to do."

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg