Caught the MLSnet replays of Burn/Wiz from this weekend. Never saw a good replay of the foul that got Jason Kreis sent off, but I did notice something... It appears that the referee has called a foul on Kreis for the infraction, and is ready to just have play start again, except the victim stays down. Several Wiz players (incl. Meola) are all over the official, apparently wanting a more severe penalty for Kreis. We hear the crowd react, apparently to the video replay. We then see the ref looking up, apparently at the board, then walking to Kreis and sending him off. Basically, this gives the strong impression that he was tossed not for what the referee saw live, but what it looked like on replay. Are game officials allowed to make calls based on stadium replays? (I know that the league's disciplinary committeee can use it to assess fines and suspensions). (Admission: I'm a player and fan, not a ref.)
Short answer: Yes. There is nothing in the laws restricting the type of information a referee may use in making his decision. There is a decent discussion on the Dallas board. I'm wondering what people would think if they had seen the sideline view of the play that the AR had. From that view, perhaps the play looked worse than it was, or perhaps it really was worse than it looked from the midfield view. In short, if a referee changed his mind because of something he saw on a replay or from a discussion with an AR, I certainly would want him to make use of that information.
The issue of video replay opens a big can of worms. I would hope the referee made his decision on what he saw and not by sneaking a look at the Jumbotron. On the replay you can see the referee is about 20 yards from play looking right at the incident. So it is possible that he did not send Kreis off immediately because he was more concerned on the status of the injured player. He would always have time to deal with the misconduct.
He did spend a fair amount of time with the downed player. After that he went over to the AR for a discussion. By then the AR had probably seen the first replay. They were both talking together during the repeat and final showing of the incident. Then he carded Kreis. I know the AR signaled the ref, but can't remember exactly when. "Basically, this gives the strong impression that he was tossed not for what the referee saw live, but what it looked like on replay." The referee often makes calls or augments his decisions based on things he did not directly observe. Usually this is in the form of the AR giving him input. The fact that the replay may have been the deciding factor really does make for a sticky situation. As fans, we always want immediate justice, not to mention have the ruling in our favor. Things like this (taking the time to get it 'right') and delaying offside calls to determine play involvement drive most fans nuts.