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Referee organization admitted Revolution tying goal was ‘incorrectly disallowed’
Andrew Farrell appeared to score a dramatic leveler in stoppage time, only for the goal to be erroneously disallowed by VAR.
As the ball clipped off the far post and bounced into the net, Revolution center back Andrew Farrell erupted in celebration of what he thought was not only a miraculous equalizer in the final moments of stoppage time during Saturday’s clash with New York Red Bulls, but also possibly the greatest goal of his MLS career.
Yet moments later — following Farrell’s gleeful celebration with teammates — the goal was disallowed by officials after a review was recommended from the league’s “Video Assistant Referee,” also known as VAR. The game ended in a 2-1 defeat for New England, bringing the club’s seven-game unbeaten run to a halt.
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The reasoning for calling the goal back was that New England forward Giacomo Vrioni, having strayed into an offside position, was judged to have “impacted” New York goalkeeper Carlos Coronel’s view (as he appeared to run across Coronel’s field of vision to get back into an onside position).
The call was disputed by Revolution head coach Bruce Arena, who was adamant in the postgame press conference that the goal should have stood.
“The ball was deflected by a Red Bull player, so the goal should have been good,” Arena bluntly stated. “That’s my opinion of it. They said Vrioni was interfering with the goalkeeper. I think with the Red Bull player deflecting the ball, the goal should be allowed.”
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On Monday, Professional Referee Organization (PRO), which oversees pro soccer officiating in the United States and Canada (including MLS), released a candid statement admitting that Farrell’s goal had been called back by mistake, saying that both VAR and the on-field official missed the deflection from New York forward Tom Barlow:
During the MLS match between New York Red Bulls and New England Revolution on July 8, an officiating error was made in the third minute of additional time at the end of the second half when the match officials incorrectly disallowed a goal.
A goal was scored by New England’s Andrew Farrell. New England’s Giacomo Vrioni was standing in an offside position between Farrell and the New York goalkeeper, Carlos Coronel. As the ball came close to New York’s Tom Barlow, he reached out and deflected the ball, causing Coronel to miss the ball as it went into the goal.
The VAR reviewed the angles and did not see the ball deflect and thought the goalkeeper was impacted by Vrioni in the offside position. He, therefore, recommended an on-field review. The referee, who also did not see this deflection, accepted the review and the goal was disallowed.
PRO acknowledges that an error was made, and the goal should have been allowed.
While it’s impossible to say with total certainty that the Revolution would’ve actually ended up tying the Red Bulls 2-2 had the goal counted, the circumstances — the game was in the final moments of the allotted three minutes of stoppage time — suggest New England likely would’ve held on for a point.
Arena, never one to miss a chance to plead his case, Arena also added a reminder that this isn’t the first time such an error has proven costly to his team during his postgame remarks.
“That’s the third time this year we’ve had a goal taken away on a VAR interpretation,” he said.
The reference, in part, was to a similar scenario earlier in 2023, when forward Gustavo Bou was judged to have “impacted” a goalkeeper’s vision on a would-be goal from teammate Dylan Borrero. The goal was waived off, and the game against New York City FC ended in merely a draw for New England (instead of a potential win). PRO later acknowledged that “the preferred outcome would have been for the on-field officials to award the goal.”
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Farrell, keeping his sense of humor through the incident, shared a replay of his non-goal on Twitter following PRO’s statement with the caption: “[So] goal bonus still coming my way?”
The Revolution, currently third in the Eastern Conference, will be back in action on Wednesday at Gillette Stadium (7:30 p.m.) against Atlanta United.
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