New VAR system with ‘coach’s challenge’ trialled by IFAB

The global football body has conducted extensive testing of Football Video Support (FVS), an alternative to the much-maligned Video Assistant Referee (VAR).

A new system for monitoring referee decisions has received tacit approval from the world's football governing body after trials of Football Video Support (FVS) were extended this week.

The International Football Association Board (IFAB) has been investigating the new approach, which will see teams given two 'coach's challenge' opportunities during a match to challenge decisions. Coaches can request the referee to go to a screen on the field to check the call if they believe an error has been made.

The introduction of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) has not given football the certainty initially billed and there are increasing calls for substantial changes. Like VAR, the FVS system is only designed to be used “in the event of a potential clear and obvious error or serious missed incident”.

Crucially, however, in FVS the decisions are not automatically controlled and the process must be initiated by coaches. As it stands, each team gets two reviews per match, although they will retain an appeal if the original decision is overturned.

What has FIFA said about the new VAR alternative?

The challenge element of FVS for the coach means that a team of officials is not required to sift through every decision made during the match. The on-field referee is the only person charged with making the decision, reducing the number of officials required for each match and maintaining the referee's priority.

The FVS system was already used earlier this year at the FIFA Youth Cup and the Women's Under-20 World Cup. However, it appears that FIFA's use of the new system will be limited.

The Athletic reports that the FVS is only eligible for camera-restricted matches, where between one and four cameras are in use. This is a tight contract for the Premier League, where the current VAR system typically uses more than twenty different camera angles.

FIFA has stressed that it has “no intention whatsoever to replace the VAR system” but is instead focused on “supporting the implementation of the VAR system where possible”.

Despite all the frustrations with VAR, teams in England are at least content to stick with it for now. In June, the vote among all twenty Premier League clubs was 19-1 in support of retaining VAR for the coming season. Only Wolverhampton Wanderers, the team that initiated the vote, supported the proposal.