Video Assistant Referee has its critics in Major League Soccer, not least Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but for the most part it has avoided the widespread fan antipathy that has roiled the English Premier League, German Bundesliga and elsewhere.
MLS was the first league in the world to use VAR in every game, starting in 2017.
As it gears up for a new season starting next week, many fans will be relieved to know it again will refrain from using the virtual offside line that has been particularly controversial in the English Premier League (EPL) this season.
Many goals in the EPL have been ruled out due to the attacking player being offside by the tiniest of margins, and it is perhaps a blessing in disguise that MLS does not yet have enough cameras to implement a virtual offside line.
"For now, MLS will continue using the same process we used in 2019," MLS Professional Referee Organization general manager Howard Webb told Reuters in a telephone interview last week.
"We want to make sure absolutely we can place an accurate line on every single situation across all of our stadiums. When that's possible and we feel the technology is accurate, we'll look at whether it's something we want to implement.
"At the moment we're working to a system where the on-field decision is made by the assistant referee. That will be considered correct unless the VAR identifies a clear error when they look at the best video angle available."
VAR is used with a relatively light touch in MLS, which has a Twitter feed devoted to communicating VAR decisions to fans in near real time.
"There is a lot of subjectivity in this sport, a lot of situations that create debate and discussion," Webb said. "We try to identify consistently what is clear and obvious, what officials should and shouldn't get involved in.
"That threshold is in a high place and we feel that's for the benefit of the game. When we first went into it back in 2016, VAR wanted to get involved in all sorts of things.
"We've tempered that enthusiasm. Things of a violent nature might have a slightly different threshold to more subjective penalty situations."
It was such reluctance to overturn all but obvious errors that led to Ibrahimovic, then with the Los Angeles Galaxy, excoriating VAR after it failed to overturn a penalty call in a game last season.
Webb acknowledged that the foul to which Ibrahimovic referred had occurred outside the box but said no camera angle had conclusively proved that the referee had made a mistake, hence the original decision stood, much to the Swede's chagrin.
Webb, the former top-level English referee who took charge of the 2010 World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands, declined to comment on the implementation of VAR in England or elsewhere, saying it was up to each league to use the technology as it saw fit.
He did say, however, that referees everywhere were grateful for the safety net provided by VAR.
No Red Card
The 48-year-old Yorkshireman speaks from experience, having been heavily criticised for showing Nigel de Jong only a yellow card for a kung-fu kick to Xabi Alonso's chest during the World Cup final in South Africa.
Webb says his view was partially blocked and he did not see the actual point of impact, only that it was a late and reckless challenge.
Indeed, a close look at the incident on video shows Alonso with his back to the referee, and another player also obstructing the view.
"I would have loved an opportunity to have another look at it from the best angle," Webb said.
"I would have been at the screen for about seven seconds and said 'Thanks a lot, that's clearly a red card.'"
