Fifa tests manager review card at Under-20 World Cup

FIFA is trialling a simple way for coaches to ask for a video check: a coloured card handed to the fourth official to trigger a review. The system, called Football Video Support (FVS), is aimed at competitions that cannot afford full VAR installations.

Each team receives one card — one blue, one purple — and it can only be used by the manager or another senior team official if the manager is absent. Players may ask their manager to request a review on their behalf. Requests must be made immediately after the incident.

A manager indicates a request by twirling a finger in the air then giving the card to the fourth official. FVS is designed to work with up to four cameras rather than the multi-camera setups used in top leagues.

“FVS is a tool to support referees in competitions with fewer resources and cameras. It should not be seen as VAR or as a modified version of it, as it does not include video match officials monitoring every incident,” said Pierluigi Collina, chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee. He said officials were “encouraged” by early results.

The scheme covers only clear and obvious errors or serious missed incidents in key scenarios: goal/no goal, penalty/no penalty and direct red cards (not second cautions). If a review is upheld the manager keeps two challenges; if they lose, the challenge is lost.

One recent example came in the Under-20 World Cup semi-final when Morocco boss Mohamed Ouahbi held up his blue card after a penalty appeal was waved away against France. Officials checked the footage and then confirmed the original decision. Morocco advanced to the final after winning 5-4 on penalties.

FVS has already seen use at the Women’s Under-17 World Cup in the Dominican Republic and in club pilots. It has been trialled in Italy’s Serie C — where roughly 200 matches have featured the system — as well as in Spain for the Women’s Liga F and men’s Primera Federación. There were also trial weekends in Italy’s women’s Serie A.

FIFA says the card system “is used only in the event of a possible clear and obvious error, or serious missed incident in relation to the following scenarios, such as goal/no goal, penalty/no penalty or direct red cards (not second cautions).”

The International Football Association Board (Ifab) has been watching the tests and the format will be used at upcoming Under-17 World Cup tournaments in Qatar and Morocco. FIFA positions FVS as a cost-effective, scalable way to give lower-tier competitions some video support without replicating full VAR operations.