"Simplified version" of VAR emerging as vital at Under-20 World Cup soccer tournament

Audio By Carbonatix

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — FIFA is employing an alternative review system that allows coaches to appeal two referee’s decisions per match at the Under-20 soccer World Cup in Chile

The football video support (FVS) is a “simplified version” of VAR and has transformed the youth tournament into a testing ground for new technologies.

Cards that vary between blue and purple are held by coaches, who are in charge of requesting reviews.

During the group stage, its use has proven crucial, defining the course of several matches played in the cities of Santiago, Valparaíso, Rancagua and Talca. The system was deployed in more than a dozen matches in the early part of the tournament.

FVS was first used when South Korea coach Lee Chang-Won used a card for the first time during the opening match against Ukraine. He challenged a penalty, but the request was ultimately ruled out by the referee.

Since then, the review system has had a role in several matches. Of the 12 games in the first round of the group stage, the “light VAR” was used in seven.

It proved decisive in Norway’s 1-0 victory over Nigeria after a review of a handball by Nigeria defender Ahmed Akinyele, which American referee Joe Dickerson had ignored.

FVS also disallowed a goal in Argentina's 4-1 win against Australia — the review denying a tying goal for the Socceroos.

Mexico's use of the system helped it overturn a penalty decision in a match they ended up tying 2-2 against Spain. It also led to Paraguay winger Enso González being red-carded after kicking South Korea striker Hyeon-oh Kim.

Unlike VAR, which uses special cameras and a supporting team of officials, FVS referees review their decisions based on images captured by the television broadcast, without further assistance.

According to world soccer's ruling body FIFA, the FVS system aims to “democratize football by introducing video review technology as a complementary option,” not only for top-level competitions but also for those that “could not afford VAR infrastructure,” thanks to its low cost and simplified operation.

Coaches can only appeal in four specific situations: whether or not there was a goal; whether or not there was a penalty, over a direct red card, or in case of suspicion that a card was not shown to the correct offender.

The system had already been tested by FIFA in other competitions, such as the 2024 Youth Championship/Blue Stars in Switzerland and the 2025 Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia, and it is expected to be expanded to other youth categories.

Some have praised the system, but others have expressed reluctance.

“It’s a good tool to avoid constantly stopping the game,” said Chile coach Nicolás Córdova after a 2-0 loss against Japan.

Some fans, however, have criticized the long waiting periods until a decision is made.

“In a game like this, we had 10 extra minutes because they stopped the whole time to review things that clearly hadn’t happened,” Brazilian fan Tiago Dias said after his country lost 2-1 against Morocco.

Some coaches, such as Morocco’s Mohamed Ouahbi, said they would make extensive use of the tool, regardless of whether there was a violation or not.

“I’m going to use the card because the option is there. We have two cards and we have to use them," Ouahbi said.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer