Between what was nominally the 70th and 73rd minutes of Barcelona Femenis 8-0 win against Alhama CF last weekend, Claudia Pina scored twice but the VAR review of her second goal took more than five minutes to get through.
Video refereeing has only just been introduced in Liga F, Spanish womens footballs top flight, but through a VAR-lite system still being refined. It allows managers to challenge two on-field decisions per game and has been billed as a cost-effective alternative to VAR.
The 16 clubs participating in Liga F gave their green light for the implementation of this system, which FIFA calls Football Video Support (FVS), early last month. The idea was for the league to take a step forward, minimise refereeing errors and ensure a fairer competition.
So how has it been applied? And what makes it different from the more conventional VAR?
The Athletic explains.
The new FVS system is intended to intervene in the same four situations as VAR: goal/no goal, penalties, offsides and cases of mistaken identity. But there are some key differences.
There is no VAR room, meaning the on-pitch referee approaches a screen installed near the coaches technical area and has an audiovisual technician at her side with a monitor to show her the replays she requests. But there are no replays from multiple angles due to the lack of cameras in many Liga F stadiums.
The main new feature is the challenge system. Each team has up to two review requests per match. If a coach wants the referee to review a decision, they twirl their finger in the air and hand the official a card blue for the home team and green for the away team to signal a challenge. If the decision is corrected, the team that requested it regains that challenge.
No other referees intervene in this system and the on-pitch official will review every goal, regardless of whether they are asked. There is no semi-automatic offside system as in La Liga.
Video refereeing was used 39 times on the first day of the season, with one red card being corrected and three goals disallowed for offside. Barcelonas thrashing of Alhama was the match with the most interventions (12) and the only game in which there were no challenges was Athletic Clubs goalless draw with CD Tenerife.
During Barcas win, the review of eight goals plus four requests from both teams disrupted the flow of the match. The players were made to wait five minutes for a decision after Pinas second goal, a move that started with a possible Alhama penalty at the other end of the pitch. The visiting bench complained that Barcas Kika Nazareth had handled the ball, but the referee dismissed their appeal. Fans booed the delay from the stands at the Johan Cruyff Stadium.
There was also controversy in Granadas 2-1 win at Levante. With the score at 1-1 in the 73rd minute, Granada requested a review of a move in which they claimed Levantes Eva Alonso had fouled Sonya Keefe inside the area. Following a four-minute review by the referee, she showed Alonso a yellow card and awarded a penalty to Granada although it appeared to be a contentious decision with Keefe scoring from the spot.
The clubs view the introduction of FVS as a positive development but believe it needs refining, as they argue it disrupts the flow of the game and is detrimental to the players who are left trying to stay active during lengthy reviews and fans.
We have been told that it is also something new for the referees, Barca winger Caroline Graham Hansen said in the mixed zone with reporters after the Alhama win. They havent had much time to practise, thats what weve been told. We have to take it easy and hope that in the next few games the process will improve and go faster. In the end, its good to have this tool to help make everything as fair as possible.
Her Barca team-mate Laia Aleixandri added: From the inside, it has been a bit long, but we have to try to focus on the game, give the game rhythm because those breaks are not good.
And Barca coach Pere Romeu reflected those feelings in his post-match news conference.
Im sure there will be times when it will be used better because its true that there were a lot of interruptions in the second half, he said. I feel bad for the fans and the players. Its something that also breaks the rhythm of the game for the players, but well try to draw positive conclusions. It would be better to speed up the process so that everyone can benefit from it.
Meanwhile, after Espanyols 5-0 defeat against Atletico Madrid, their defender Laia Balleste said: Its something that takes time, both for the referees committee and for the players. The same rules have to be applied to both teams.
At Tuesdays official presentation of the 2025-26 season, Liga F president Beatriz Alvarez was honest about the implementation of the technology and assured reporters she knew there was still a long way to go.
We have worked with the CTA (Spains referees association) and the RFEF (Spanish football federation) to implement this system, she said. We are happy with the result, but there are some details that need to be ironed out. We are in contact with the CTA to correct some things that could make it more attractive.
According to Liga F sources who, like all those cited in this article, asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships they want to reduce the wait times for reviews and avoid situations in which games are paused for four or five minutes while referees go over key incidents or goals.
FVS has also been implemented this season in Primera Federacion, the mens third tier. It was used in last years under-20 and under-17 Womens World Cups, as well as being introduced to the Italian mens Serie C this campaign.
A source at FIFA said FVS was not intended to be a long-term replacement for VAR. Instead, it was designed to offer an alternative for leagues that lacked the financial resources, personnel or sufficient cameras to use the full VAR system.
We generally work in matches covered by a limited number of cameras, said Pierluigi Collina, the chairman of the FIFA referees committee, at the World Football Summit in Hong Kong this week.
These are matches covered by two, three, four cameras. So, you cannot see everything as VAR does. Nevertheless, a major mistake can be prevented from being committed.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Barcelona, Real Madrid, Soccer, La Liga, Women’s Soccer
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