FIFA has held the first trials of a new system of VAR which allows coaches to challenge a referee’s decision, rather than the reviews only being undertaken by video officials.
The IFAB, football’s lawmakers, committed to the endorsement of an additional “VAR light” — which required fewer resources — at its AGM in March 2023, with the intention of making it available across the game worldwide.
The new system, Football Video Support (VS), allows for the same situations to be challenged as in VAR — goals, penalties, red cards and mistaken identity. Each team will be able to make two challenges per match. If the challenge is successful, the team keeps that review.
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The decision to request a review is the responsibility of the coach, who does so by twirling a finger in the air and giving the fourth official a card. The coach then says which kind of incident he wants to be reviewed. The players can recommend to the coach that a review is made, but activating it will remain with the coach. A replay operator would ensure the correct footage is shown.
Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s head of referees, said the first tests held during the Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup, a FIFA youth competition in Zurich last week, went well.
