Will referees soon no longer be the only ones able to use video assistance? Fifa has just obtained a first victory in this sense. According to information from the American sports television channel ESPN the International Football Association Board (IFAB), the body which determines and develops the rules of the game, approved on Monday December 2 an expansion of the Football Video Support (FVS) trials. This alternative system to VAR would allow referees to use video assistance to challenge refereeing decisions.
Concretely, it would give coaches the possibility of challenging an arbitration decision at least twice per match. Approved for the first time by the Board in March 2024, this device has been tested twice during international competitions. During the Under-20 Women’s World Cup this summer in Colombia, and more recently in October during the Under-17 Women’s World Cup. With this new favorable decision from Ifab, the experiment will therefore be continued and extended to other competitions.
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“the FVS will not be able to show what the VAR can show”
“It is early in the trial and the experiences from the FIFA U20 and U17 Women’s World Cups will be analyzed carefully but so far we have not noticed anything unexpected. Several FIFA member associations have already expressed interest in participating in the trial, said Pierluigi Collina, the president of the FIFA referees committee. It is essential to clarify that FVS is not VAR, particularly in terms of expectations. Due to the limited number of cameras, the FVS will not be able to show what the VAR can show. Offside is an example: without correctly positioned cameras, only obvious offside can be detected. The decision on the ground is therefore also important. »
Senegal
