Ligue 3 introduces Football Video Support, a light VAR with coach challenges | OneFootball

A lighter version of VAR, Football Video Support, launches in Ligue 3 on Friday 7 August at 20:45, letting head coaches trigger video reviews.

The division replaces the National and begins its first professional season, with new federal status, a bigger budget and coverage on Ligue 1+. According to L'Équipe, FVS is the headline innovation and has never been used in France.

The system originates from FIFA youth competitions, including the most recent U20 World Cup. It is a streamlined take on the VAR used in Ligue 1 and other major tournaments.

In Ligue 3 there is no dedicated video assistant and no outside broadcast truck. Instead, coaches initiate an on-field challenge, comparable to tennis or basketball. Only the head coach can activate it, or a replacement if the head coach is outside the technical area.

Requests must be exceptional and limited to clear errors or serious incidents. They cover four situations, a goal wrongly given or disallowed, a penalty awarded or not, a contentious red card, or mistaken identity on a sanctioned player. The challenge must be lodged immediately after the incident.

Each coach has two challenges per match. If the call is correct in their favour, they keep the right to challenge again, if not, they lose it.

Traditional VAR requires extensive camera setups and a video room that many competitions cannot fund. FVS offers a simpler, pitchside mechanism without a dedicated video official.

Source: L'Équipe

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