MLS delays new rules over referee lockout

MLS will postpone the implementation of several new rules as a result of ongoing labor strife between the league and its referees union.

In an announcement sent out mere hours before the 2024 season’s opening match between Inter Miami and Real Salt Lake, MLS said that in-stadium VAR announcements from referees are among the new initiatives that will not be in place as a result of the league locking out the Professional Soccer Referees Association (PSRA).

Two more rules MLS planned to test will be delayed until the labor impasse is resolved. One would require players to exit the pitch within 10 seconds of being substituted, with violators having to play down a man until the head referee waved the incoming substitute onto the field (a delay that would last for at least one full minute).

MLS was also set to begin its season with a new rule addressing stoppages for injury, where any player who stayed down for more than 15 seconds would be required to leave the pitch for at least two full minutes.

All three new concepts will be brought in sometime after the Professional Referee Organization (PRO) — the body that hires and assigns referees for MLS — and PSRA can agree to a collective bargaining agreement.

Some new initiatives in place for MLS opener

Despite the delay on certain new rules, MLS will have some changes in place from day one. The league said that its “Return to Play Equity protocol” — essentially, a regulation that requires two players who are treated for a clash of heads and cleared to return to the field to re-enter play at the same time — will be in place as Lionel Messi and Miami host RSL in what is the earliest league match in MLS history.

Additionally, in-stadium clocks will keep running through stoppage time, another measure MLS had announced weeks ago.

During the duration of the lockout, MLS says it will announce referee assignments the morning of the game in question, with a 9 a.m. ET deadline for games that begin before 7:30 p.m., and 12 p.m. for matches starting at 7:30 p.m. or later.

The Washington Post has reported that MLS has changed its old procedure, which involved assignments being announced two days before matches, as a “security precaution” during the labor dispute.

MLS also clarified that the pool reporter process (a channel for a pre-selected reporter to submit questions in writing to referees) will remain in place, but expressly forbid “questions regarding the ongoing labor negotiations.”