For the final two windows of World Cup qualifying, Concacaf has introduced another element to the competition. Despite going eight of 14 matchdays without video assistant referees, the region announced Wednesday that the final six will indeed feature VAR capability, adding another layer of potential officiating and call-correction to the proceedings after ironing out the personnel and infrastructure issues that prevented it from being implemented in the first place.
Making a change as significant as that over halfway into a qualifying tournament doesn't come without criticism. After all, why should certain games—the majority, even—be subjected to one set of rules and possibilities, while others, especially the ones later in the competition that will be more decisive in determining the nations that go to Qatar, are not?
Ultimately, it's a level playing field. All eight teams are subject to the same amount of games with the same rules. And shouldn't the goal be to do what's possible to get calls correct, especially in the matches that could wind up mattering the most? It's not a cure-all, by any means. Anyone who has been watching in the VAR era knows that the implementation across all leagues and competitions has been inconsistent and that even having replays accessible can still result in calls that are subjective and up for debate. But it's still a net-positive in the grand scheme.
