Put this clip into the MLS Hall of Fame.
During the match between St. Louis CITY and Atlanta United this Saturday — a game that saw both teams divide points following a 1-1 draw — a refereeing decision helped by the VAR, announced to the entire stadium, had fans wishing they had not celebrated the call so early. You need to see this.
Watch: Referee trolls fans with Video Review announcement in St. Louis CITY-Atlanta United
Just minutes before the halftime whistle, St. Louis were to open the scoring through a Nökkvi Þórisson strike inside the box that was quickly overturned for an offside position.
After a VAR review, central referee Filip Dujic announced that there was in fact no offside position, with fans in CITYPARK celebrating the decision that put their club ahead on the scoresheet. However, unfortunately for the majority of St. Louis fans in the stadium, Dujic was not finished.
Following the loud cheering from fans and the immediate pause from the referee, Dujic continued his announcement by saying that even though there was no offside, St. Louis had committed a foul prior to the goal and in the build up, invalidating their goal and giving Atlanta United a free kick. And he did so with the up-most personality and voice presence we’ve seen from a ref this season thus far.
This is my new personal hero pic.twitter.com/22sgTvN26D
— Rob Usry (@RobUsry) June 23, 2024
From a unanimous uproar, to a wave of boos.
Dujic’s incredible announcement clip has since gone viral on social media, with fans around the world and even from the Premier League asking other leagues to use this new method.
Bring this stuff to the Premier League pic.twitter.com/9PgdG3i1cM
— george (@StokeyyG2) June 23, 2024
Since the start the current 2024 season, Major League Soccer incorporated the use of in-stadium Video Review announcements. These announcements were designed to provide and explain information regarding refereeing decisions, helping clear up any confusion between the calls and fans present at the stadium or watching at home.
Though, as you might’ve already seen, fans should probably wait until the referee is done announcing the call before choosing to celebrate.
— Brendan (@BDCards90) June 23, 2024
