What if coaches could challenge a referee decision and request video assistance? It is this principle that the Federation international association Football (FIFA) is experimenting to set up a new arbitration support system. With Football Video Support (FVS), only a request from one of the coaches present on the bench causes the video to intervene. A new device that raises questions.
How does FVS work?
The system is simple: the video only comes into play when the coaches request it. The match referee then evaluates his own decision. Unlike VAR, “the man in black” does not have video assistants but a single replay operator to launch the images at his disposal. The FVS allows coaches to challenge up to two times per game if they believe an error has been made. If the error is corrected by the FVS, the coach regains the possibility of contesting, like what we can already see in tennis or in other sports.
Tested at this year's FIFA U20 and U17 Women's World Cups, FVS could be expanded to more competitions. “Several FIFA member associations have already expressed interest in participating in the trial. assures to ESPN Pierluigi Collina, former international referee and now president of the FIFA referees commission.
A less expensive solution… but also less fair?
With the FVS, the objective is to offer a video refereeing service that is less expensive and accessible to a greater number of leagues and competitions. In his presentation, Pierluigi Collina is clear on the subject: “FVS is not VAR“and, with”the low number of cameras used, the FVS will not show what the VAR can show“.
With the numerous cameras positioned around the pitch (twelve cameras were dedicated to VAR for each match during the 2022 World Cup) and the video cell (made up of a video assistant referee and at least one assistant), the system of VAR is not affordable for all championships.
This season, the LFP has, for example, decided “unanimously to postpone the application of VAR in Ligue 2 in the interests of cost control“. Last July, Jean-Pierre Caillot, the president of Stade de Reims and the college of Ligue 1 presidents, even questioned the future of VAR because of its cost in The Team. For the FVS, the system operates with a reduced number of cameras and fewer referees, which limits costs.
Bruno Derrien, former international referee, does not view this new system favorably. He believes that the development of the FVS could create “a three-speed football between those who have VAR, those who have FVS and those who have nothing“This alternative system to VAR would carry within it the seeds of possible injustices, the referee goes even further: “The initiative for the video must remain in the hands of the referee so that the decision is as fair as possible. If the referee is no longer called on possible errors, there will be some that will slip through the drops.” explains the man who has refereed more than 350 professional matches.
A way to improve VAR more than an alternative?
The idea of being able to play an active role in refereeing from the bench is a dream for some coaches. The former coach of Bastia and Metz in particular, Frédéric Antonetti would even rather see the FVS as a complement to VAR, rather than an alternative. “VAR is a very nice tool that allows you to correct a lot of errors. We can always improve it, with the FVS, the two can be complementary. You have to see the use with the cuts [les temps morts que peuvent provoquer]”, he assesses.
“With challenges from coaches in addition to VAR, it will solve problems, not all of them obviously. But if it can increase the percentage of errors corrected, that could be a good thing.”
Frédéric Antonetti, former Ligue 1 coachat franceinfo: sport
For the current sports director of the Sporting Club de Bastia, giving coaches the power to request video assistance is a good idea: “Coaches feel things. From morning to evening, they only observe. When I watch a match for example, sometimes I feel who is offside, but I am not in the lineup. Our eyes are trained for this. It's good that Mr. Collina had this idea.“
The future of the FVS is now in the hands of the Ifab (International Football Association Board), the body governing the rules of football, in particular those of VAR. If it gives its authorization, several competitions will be able to use the FVS from next year.
