Italy’s football association FIGC wants to test an alternative to the unpopular video assistant referee in Serie C.
President Gabriele Gravina communicated this in writing to the football regulators of the International Football Association Board (IFAB). Gianluca Rocchi, Italy’s head of referees, welcomes this initiative: “Video support can be a solution, […] to make the right decision.”
Similar to other sports, for example in tennis or in the major US leagues NBA, NFL and NHL, coaches should be able to use “challenges” to review referee decisions. In order to prevent this from escalating, this can only be done in certain situations such as goals, penalties or red cards.
The NFL has been experimenting with instant replays since the 1970s
Photo: © getty
NFL tested “instant replays” back in the 70s
Testing using “challenges” is not a new invention – it was introduced in the National Football League in 1999. The head coaches have the opportunity to review a situation twice per game.
The NFL tried instant replays in the 1970s, but abandoned the idea because it wasn’t ready for the regular season. From 1985 to 1992 the “instant replays” came for the referees.
With little success: the technology was seen as too time-consuming, and some of the decisions were simply wrong – a similar situation to today’s football.
The “Hawk Eye” was introduced in 2006 and is now an integral part of tennis
Photo: © getty
“Hawk Eye” has been in use since 2006 – Wimbledon does without linesmen
The counterpart to this in tennis is the “Hawk Eye”. Here too, the last point can be checked again using “Challenges”. Basically, the players each have three “challenges” per set; one “challenge” is deducted for a “lost challenge”.
Roger Federer has often criticized the system, especially after its introduction in 2006. Nowadays, however, the “Hawk Eye” has become an integral part of tennis.
At the tournament in Wimbledon, the grass classic breaks with the tradition of linesmen and relies on a technical solution (all information >>>).
Video support already in use at the Futsal and Women’s U20 World Cup
Video support is not a new phenomenon in football. The system has already been used as a test at the 2021 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Lithuania and this year at the Women’s U20 World Cup in Colombia.
Pierluigi Collina, chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, described the first youth trials as “very positive”.
According to Collina, the use of video support should be more cost-efficient and therefore more attractive for leagues with smaller budgets.
