Championship clubs have rejected the opportunity to implement a video assistant referee system next season.
The clubs were asked to consider bringing in the challenge system of VAR for next season.
Football Video Support (FVS), a version of VAR needing fewer resources and offering each coach two reviews per game, was considered for introduction from August.
Clubs Voice Concerns Over VAR Implementation
Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO) delivered a presentation at the EFL’s annual meeting last month.
Feedback was subsequently canvassed by the EFL, but clubs were strongly against any kind of video review system in the Championship.
BBC Sport understands the idea is closed for the foreseeable future and the idea is unlikely to be resurrected by the clubs in a year’s time.
The clubs showed no appetite to move forward with the idea, fearful of the impact on the game for supporters as well as the cost of introducing it.
Existing Technology and Manager Reactions
Goal Line Technology will continue to be used in the second tier, while there will be a cost-based analysis before a vote in June to extend it into League One.
Several managers in the Championship have called for VAR to be introduced in recent months.
Norwich manager Philippe Clement said there are “moments where I miss VAR to get the right decisions” after his side conceded a penalty against Ipswich earlier this month.
Former Bristol City manager Gerhard Struber said in January there are “many signs, evaluations that with VAR the decisions are better and more fair”.
How FVS Would Have Worked
Football Video Support (FVS) has been trialled for the past two years.
It is intended for use in leagues which have fewer cameras and officials.
There is no actual VAR, only a replay operator presenting the match referee with camera angles at the pitchside monitor.
Each coach gets two challenges per match. If a challenge is successful, the manage keeps it.
Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham said earlier this year that FVS “reduces the amount of times when there is a VAR intervention and effectively puts the onus on the coach”.
While FVS does mean fewer checks, it is likely the game would be stopped more often.
In the last two rounds of Premier League games, the referee went to the monitor just twice across the 20 games.
With FVS that could rise to four times per game – and potentially more if a coach has a challenge upheld.
VAR Use in Other Leagues
VAR is used in the second divisions in Spain, Italy and Germany.
It was due to be added Ligue 2 in France too until the collapse of the TV rights deal saw it scrapped on financial grounds.
Trials have been taking place in the third division of the men’s game and the top flight of the women’s game in Spain, and in Serie C in Italy.
It was expanded to the Canadian Premier League this month, but already there have been concerns about.