VAR could be overhauled with Premier League bosses set to be handed challenge system

Premier League managers may soon have the opportunity to challenge refereeing decisions as FIFA contemplates overhauling VAR. The English top-flight introduced VAR in the 2019/2020 season, but it has been plagued with issues ever since.

Managers, players, pundits and fans alike have expressed their frustration with the system. Howard Webb, PGMOL's chief refereeing officer, has tried to clarify misunderstandings about VAR, but has also had to frequently apologise for his officials' decisions.

Nottingham Forest were on the wrong end of several poor VAR decisions last season, culminating with the row and ensuing FA fine that came after their defeat at Everton. It sparked Forest claims of bias against the club and prompted the FA to take tough action.

Currently, only referees can use the system, with VARs initiating reviews of incidents. However, this could be about to change, with FIFA considering allowing coaches to challenge decisions themselves.

ESPN reports that FIFA is hoping to get permission from the International Football Association Board (IFAB) to continue trials of Football Video Support (FVS). This system would enable coaches to challenge decisions.

FVS has already been used at this year's U20 and U17 FIFA Women's World Cups, after being approved for testing by the IFAB in March. It is believed that FIFA now wants to extend the system to other competitions, reports the Mirror.

The system allows coaches to makeup to two challenges per match if they believe a mistake has been made. The referee then goes to the side of the pitch to view a replay of the incident.

Unlike VAR, the Football Video Assistant (FVS) system only involves a replay operator who prepares the video. The match referee alone then reviews his own decision without being pre-informed of any clear and obvious error.

Currently, the challenge system is designed for use in leagues with fewer resources, ideally with no more than four cameras. Pierluigi Collina, the chairman of FIFA's referees' committee, has insisted that the FVS system has received positive feedback from the tournaments it has been used in.

"We are at the beginning of the trial and the experiences at both the U20 and U17 FIFA Women's World Cup will be carefully analysed but so far, we haven't noticed anything unexpected," Collina told ESPN. "As agreed, FIFA will present a report at the next IFAB ABM and request to continue the trial on a wider basis. Several FIFA member associations already showed the interest to participate in the trial. If IFAB gives permission, next year there will be several competitions using FVS."

He added: "Even though [the U20 and U17 FIFA Women's World Cup] was the first experience, both for the teams and the match officials, we feel that the outcome was very positive. We conducted a survey with the coaches after the tournament which showed that FVS was positively received and considered worthy to be used in the future."

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