Were Sporting KC Robbed of a Trophy by VAR?

Before you yell and scream about talking about officiating instead of the game, yes, LAFC were the better team. They played better. They created more chances. And ultimately, they won the game. But should the game have even gone to extra time? Should Sporting Kansas City have won in regulation?

The play in question is the first LAFC goal. And as you can see from the broadcast replays below, the initial replays aren’t from a very favorable angle to Sporting KC.

1-0 LAFC. Hints of offside and foul in the build up, but the goal counts. #SportingKC #USOC2024 pic.twitter.com/ZDriA0GAWq

— Chad Smith (@PlayFor90) September 26, 2024

The ball goes in at 52:05. Play doesn’t resume until 54:12. Plenty of time to look, but Armando Villareal is never called to the monitor by VAR Jose Carlos Rivero.

After a delay, Apple shows some better angles, and it appears that Mateusz Bogusz is offside on the entry pass. There was some complaining that Olivier Giroud is clearly offside, but he’s not involved in the play at that point. He doesn’t get involved until (just barely) returning to an onside position.

Here is the subsequent pass, which seems clearly on. #SportingKC #USOC2024 pic.twitter.com/lof3pXDVXb

— KC Soccer Journal (@KCSoccerJournal) September 26, 2024

Devon Kerr, the color commentator says “That’s very tight from that angle. It looks like he’s a half step off,” as he refers to the pass to Bogusz. There then is some discussion about camera angles before Villareal points to the spot and play resumes. LAFC are up 1-0.

Upon further review, everyone’s favorite fancy soccer math Twitter account, @OffsideModeling confirmed Bogusz was about a foot offside. The goal shouldn’t have counted.

So that @LAFC goal in the @usopencup final? I have Bogusz being offside by about a foot. pic.twitter.com/NPGDkDUOMq

— SoccerPhotogrammetry, A Nice Gentleman & nerd (@OffsideModeling) September 26, 2024

Now, would LAFC have played differently if they didn’t have a lead, or fell down 1-0 minutes later on an Erik Thommy goal? Sure. It’s impossible to know how the game would have played out because PRO Referees didn’t do their job. Much like in the 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs when PRO admitted to an error that cost Sporting KC a penalty kick and a Houston Dynamo red card. We can never know.

After the game, manager Peter Vermes was asked about the goal.

Report: “I wonder if you’ve had a chance to see the first LAFC goal?”

Vermes: “I’m gonna say it this way, I know it’s offsides (Erik Thommy openly laughs next to him). But there’s nothing I can do about it. I can say this, as a coach at the club for 16 years now, we have suffered way too many of these types of situations. So, I’m not gonna focus on that. At this stage, you’d think that those things would be dealt with in the appropriate manner. With VAR and everything else you shouldn’t miss that type of stuff. We’ve suffered too much when it comes to that kind of thing.” 

Erik Thommy weighed in too, saying, “If it’s offside at the end, in Europe I think we draw a line and here in the States we don’t. We should think about it for the future. These are big games for us. Details count in soccer.”

Was there a Foul in the Buildup?

In the same answers Vermes and Thommy gave about the blown offside call, they also referenced a foul in the build up by Maxime Chanot to Thommy to start the sequence.

Vermes: “Forget about the offside, you could have easily went with the foul that took place (as he gestures at Thommy).”

Thommy: “Like Peter said, I think it’s a foul. I had the ball, he grabbed me (trails off).”

Live, I thought the same thing. There are no good replays in tight, but it seems clear that Chanot grabs him a bit.

Another angle on the potential Thommy foul. You can see Chanot gets the ball, but he appears to pull Thommy's left arm first. pic.twitter.com/JTiudRJJqM

— Chad Smith (@PlayFor90) September 26, 2024

It’s the kind of thing Villareal had been letting go, so at least it’s consistent that he didn’t call it here. I think it’s probably a foul. But even if it’s not, it’s clearly offside. This isn’t the first time Sporting KC have been on the wrong end of bad calls in knockout games and it sadly won’t be the last.

We will never know if Sporting KC would have gone on to win their record tying fifth US Open Cup or not. They may not even be in the Open Cup next year as runners up. Based on the wonky math that allowed only eight MLS teams in, Sporting KC are too far down the table to ‘qualify’ for next year if the same criteria are used.

Now the team must turn their attention to their fifth game in 14 days as they try to eliminate their rival, St. Louis City, on Saturday across the state.