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Comparative study reveals reduced match duration and fewer corner kicks in elite youth football matches under Football Video Support versus VAR, suggesting improved game flow.
The Football Video Support (FVS) system was officially introduced into football in 2025 to improve the referees’ officiating accuracy. This study aims to investigate the influence of FVS on elite football matches compared to Video Assistant Referee (VAR). This study compared 52 matches played in the 2023 FIFA U20 World Cup with VAR implementation and 52 matches played in the 2025 FIFA U20 World Cup following the introduction of FVS using Generalized Linear Model (GLM) and means comparison. Eleven variables were gathered for each game: first half match time, second half match time, full match time, fouls, penalties, goals, yellow cards, red cards, offsides, corners and free kicks. The results showed that after the introduction of FVS, the total duration of the first half, the total duration of the second half, the overall match duration, and the number of corners all decreased significantly. Notably, the reductions in match time were less pronounced in the first two rounds of the group stage than in the final round, suggesting that the effect of FVS on match time may vary according to match round, which may offer guidance for future investigations into FVS and VAR. The findings may help football practitioners and fans better understand the effect of FVS on elite football matches and the key differences between FVS and VAR, and inform FVS related regulations.
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Bao et al. (2026) studied this question.
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