Football Video Support and Coach’s Challenge: FIFA’s Game Plan
VAR costs 12 million pounds to install plus 1.2 million per year. FVS comes to cover the needs of the leagues that cannot cover such numbers.
Every fan in the world should know the name by now. While it has caused quite heated debates about the delays and the loss of rhythm on the field, it is undeniable that the Video Assistant Referee system has greatly improved fairness in football games. It has also changed the way all the top Asian and European bookmakers determine their odds by taking out the component on their algorithms that had to do with the calculation of human error.
However, what most people do not realize is the cost of the installation at each stadium and the yearly cost for its maintenance. The equipment needed comes with a price of 12.26 million British Pounds (16.3 million dollars), while each club that has it installed on its grounds has to pay another 1.2 million pounds per year. The first part includes all the cameras that have to be used for complete coverage, the software that draws the lines for offside determination, the goal line technology, along with all the rest of the machinery required. The second part is the per game cost involved.
Football Video Support: a cheaper solution
The aforementioned cost is covered by the participating clubs in the leagues where the system is installed. However, there are many country associations that have sent petition after petition to FIFA on their inability to cover such expense. To resolve this issue, FIFA has asked for the approval of the International Football Association Board for the testing of a new system to be used as an alternative. It was granted in 2023, and it is now in the phase to be tested in a real tournament.
More or less FVS is similar to the system used in Volleyball courts and upon revelation of the details of how it will work, discussions have already begun on whether it will be effective or not.
How will FVS work
First of all, just like VAR, it will be implemented only to determine if the ball has crossed the goal line or not, in the case of a penalty, a direct red card (not a second yellow) or a possible mistake in which player has been sent off. It will be used only when the match official has made a decision either by waving for the play to continue, or stopping it, and only after a request for a review has been asked for.
For such a request to be valid it can only be considered if it is submitted by the head coach or, if they are not on the field, by the senior official of a team. Players in the field can ask their manager for a challenge but the decision to ask for it or not, is not theirs to make. Furthermore, it has to be submitted immediately after an incident via a hand indication and the delivery of a card to the fourth official.
If the match has been paused, then the referee will go to the designated referee review area (RRA) and with the assistance of an operator, will see the replay footage. If there was a wave to continue, or the game has restarted, then the official will call for a stop when the ball is at a neutral area and head to RRA. For a challenge to be successful there must be a clear and obvious error.
Implementation in the course of the match
The initial plan is for every team to be entitled to request two reviews per match. If a challenge is made and it is successful then the team does not lose the right to call for another review. This right is lost when a request has been unsuccessful.
All plays that result in a goal will be reviewed without a challenge by the fourth official. If during that phase there is an indication that not everything is as it should be, if the cause is factual, the fourth official indicates the correct decision. If not, then they call for the referee to the RRA to make the final call.
Setup 1: three cameras
The tests involve two setups. The first one will deploy only three cameras that will be operated by humans, while the second will take data from 7 automated ones.
In any event that there is a malfunction of the system, then the officials must immediately inform both the head coaches and the captains of the teams that the game will continue without the benefit of an FVS.
Setup 2: 7 cameras
Will the Football Video Support system be helpful?
This is the question that has already sparked skepticism. While the clubs have been asking for the right to challenge, somehow this is not the same as what they had in mind. Supposedly, this is more like the question should be whether it is implemented by a league or an association that runs on fairness, or one the runs on corruption. The fans that fill up the stadiums, support their teams everywhere they are, or open betting accounts via agent to make some money out of the sport, want to know that there is no intervention of «interests» behind closed doors. Assumingly, this will be the case for the implementation of the Football Video Support system as well.
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