I think what this is showing us for VAR to actually work really properly you, you probably need at at least three VARs in a booth almost to what FIFA did for the World Cup. VAR, AVAR and then AVAR2. Unless you can train the video operators to know what to look for and how to be VARs. PRO is being stretched with just having to have an AVAR in addition to VAR. If you look on USGO, you can see some former ARs being listed as AVAR. Usually locals who had former AR experience and they are there mainly to just help out with offside and watching while VAR is reviewing an incident. Maybe this is a one off incident and only one or two bodies is needed the room. If not I don't know how PRO will be able to get so many guys to cover everything. They are stretched on field as is.
Is there any easily accessible archive of assignments? Some Rapids fans are convinced we get "stuck" with Toledo more than average and I'd like to compare the numbers this year (and ideally, the last couple of years).
Including playoffs, this will be Toledo's 12th Colorado game since 2013. Only had one last year. Here's everything for Colorado. Toledo started in 2004. https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BwjKzFFbQPoeLXBpa2R0V21lbzA
Awesome, thanks. BTW, do you happen to have a rough estimate on how that compares to other teams? I'm guessing 2-3 per year on average is in line with how often he sees every team.
Yeah, in general the referees with the most games see each team a couple of times per year, but there are outliers. They might never see a team at all, or, especially factoring in playoffs, 5 or 6 times! As far back as I've been tracking this stuff, the guidelines have been to spread the love around as much as possible. That said, there are still plenty of cases where assignments are made with the aim of minimizing travel costs, especially in the AR2 and 4th official positions. It's not nearly as obvious as it used to be, though.
Most frequent referee by team, 2017 (incl playoffs) ATL: Kelly (4) CHI: Kelly (5) COL: Grajeda (4) [Toledo - 1] CLB: Elfath/Kelly/Penso/Petrescu (4 ea) DC: Fischer/Gantar/Rivero/Sibiga/Stoica/Unkel (3 ea) DAL: Stott (4) HOU: Chapman (4) LA: Penso/Stott (4 ea) MIN: Elfath/Penso/Rivero/Unkel/Villarreal (3 ea) MTL: Sibiga (4) NE: Petrescu (4) NYC: Penso (4) ORL: Penso/Sibiga (3 ea) PHI: Kelly/Rivero/Salazar/Stoica (3 ea) POR: Toledo (5) RSL: Stott (4) RBNY: Chapman (4) SJ: Fischer/Grajeda/Kelly/Rivero/Salazar (3 ea) SEA: Salazar/Stott/Toledo (4 ea) SKC: Toledo (5) TOR: Chapman (5) VAN: Toledo (6)
The real answer, I think, is that teams that are particularly poor tend to get the lower tier and trial referees a little more often, which means the upper tier workhorses see them slightly less frequently. Top referees on the most meaningful games.
I remember back in the early days that the Rapids would always get young refs for home games because the national head of assessors (or something like that) lived closer to Denver than any other MLS team (he wasn't in Denver but somewhere in the Colorado/Wyoming area). So he'd travel to the game to check out the young refs.
That's really annoying. I'm sure it has *nothing* to do with the fact that he's a superstar and he's chasing the MLS single season goal record. Nope, nothing at all....
This picture is brutal on that missed ATL call. I almsot get that the VAR didn't see it because he didn't have the right angle, and all he saw "was not atypical." Harder to explain why Baldo missed it.