Italy wants to place itself as a very new form of technological for arbitration: football video support (FVS). Support for referees in the form of a supplement of video assistance to arbitration (VAR). A request was made by the Italian Football Federation (FIFC) to FIFA and at the International Football Association Board (IFAB) to be included in the FVS test and use it in the C and Serie A female championships, while waiting to assess its implementation also in Serie D. Video refereeing has established itself as an essential element of modern football, aroused as much enthusiasm: “Italy confirms its position at the forefront of innovation in the world of football. The desire to make football ever more modern and attractive for a greater number of people, as well as the success of the tests carried out in futsal thanks to the availability of AIA and the Futsal division convinced us to expand the scope of a technological tool of great aid for the referees in competitions where the economic investment of the Var is not sustainable». Diving in the heart of arbitration 2.0.
With this innovation, FIFA does not intend to cancel or delete the VAR. The FVS will simply be used to help all the federations and all the competitions in which the costs of implementing the entire VAR structure are overpriced or prohibitive. This tool could also eventually become, if the first results are conclusive, a tool for complementary to the VAR in major competitions such as the Champions League, the World Cup or the major championships. Between the Var and the FVS, these technologies aim to reduce human errors and guarantee greater justice on the ground. But how do they really work? What differences exist between these systems? If the Var has deeply marked modern football by intervening on decisive actions, the FVS, another less publicized but just as essential technology, contributes to the improvement of the arbitration. This device, used behind the scenes, allows video assistants to report disputed situations and to enlighten decision -making, without systematically interrupting the game. More flexible and less intrusive than the VAR, the FVS seeks to combine justice and fluidity of the match.
The FVS, a pocket mini-var?
What is football video support and how does it work? In fact, this is aid for referees and a video replay in the field, to be used in competitions where the economic investment of the VAR is not sustainable. And it has substantial differences from the Var. The FVS is a tool introduced by FIFA to allow the referee (without other referees who interfere, as is the case with the Var) to review a certain game situation using the replay when there is a television coverage (number of cameras reduced compared to the Var, from one to four) and in certain specific cases. The tool requires that the referee, assisted by a video operator, uses an instructor on the edge of the field: the referee's initial decision only changes if the images show that a “Clear and obvious error” has been committed or that there is a “Serious and invisible incident”. The FVS can be requested by the referee, but also by coaches, which represents a significant revolution. Each of the two teams then has a maximum of two uses of the FVS per game. A review request is not counted if it involves modifying the decision of the original arbitrator – as is in particular the case in the NBA in the United States.
Compared to the Var, the number of cameras is clearly lower, therefore, there is the possibility of not having the perfect idle available. The protocol tested during several youth competitions organized by FIFA provided for a number of cameras between 1 and 4, but this number could increase up to 8 depending on the chords with the broadcasters who transmit events. Once called, the referee will go to the revision zone, will be assisted by an operator present on the ground which will show him the slowdown available and, only in the event of absolute certainty of the error, he will be able to change his decision. This tool can be used to check, in a similar way to the Var protocol, incidents relating to a goal scored or not, the granting or not a penalty, a direct expulsion or any error on the identity of a sanctioned player. Regarding the VAR, the FVS will not be able to intervene, except in incredibly obvious cases, on the concept of offside position. In the absence of the possibility of triangulation of cameras or live follow-up of people in the field, the video surveillance system does not allow to clarify the questionable positions and the offside to the nearest centimeter, unlike the Var. At a season marked by arbitration scandals, Italy is ready to change everything.
