Challenge System Regulations for Volleyball 2016

The FIVB is committed to using new technology to assist the

referees in the decision making process in order to make the game
absolutely fair to the athletes’ actions.

1. High-level volleyball events, which involve TV production and at

least one giant screen in the venue, use a Challenge System to
allow teams to request a review of actions which they suspect are
faults not identified and duly signalled by the referees or line
judges.

2. Teams are entitled to request “Challenges” during play each time

they understand a fault takes place and is not called by the
referees, or at the end of the rally when they would like to ask a
review of the referees’ decision concerning the last action of the
rally. Teams will keep the right to call another “Challenge” if their
claim is correct, up to the maximum of two unsuccessful
Challenges per set.

3. Challenges are allowed for one of the following situations:

a) Ball in/out – for side and end lines

b) Block Touch – contact with the ball by the player (i.e. the
blocker)
c) Net FAULT – contact with the net between the antennae by
the player in the action of playing the ball
d) Antenna Touch – contact with the antenna by the player or
by the ball
e) Foot Fault – a) contact of the server with the playing court
(end line included) or the lateral free zone outside the service
zone, b) faulty contact of a player with the 3-meter attack
line, c) the complete crossing of the centre line by the
player’s foot or feet.

4. An Electronic Team Tablet (ETT) will be used by each team and

will contain the list of possible faults that can be challenged.

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5. Challenges must be requested through the ETT right after the
occurrence of the suspected fault and will prompt the 1st referee to
stop the action when the suspected fault occurs during play.
Otherwise, teams have five seconds after the rally is over to
challenge exclusively the decisive action which finishes the rally.
For the avoidance of doubt: after the rally is over, a suspected fault
can only be challenged if it happens during the final action which
ends the rally; actions taking place earlier in the rally cannot be
challenged after the rally is over.

6. The request of a Challenge on the ETT will also trigger a specific

sound (preferably different from the sound of a timeout) and in
addition can be signalled instantaneously in the different court
screens (where they are present): giant screen, LED net, LED
boards, and on the TV feed, at the Broadcasters discretion.

7. Challenges for faults which cannot be challenged (for instance,

“four touches” by a team) will not be accepted and will be
considered in the first occurrence as improper requests.
Subsequent requests in a similar manner will be classified as
delays and sanctioned as such.

8. Challenges take precedence over all other match actions – e.g.

time out or substitution requests, which may be impacted by the
result of the Challenge.

9. The Electronic Team Tablet (ETT) has buttons pre-programmed to

cover the permitted challenge possibilities. The display of the
buttons may vary according to the technology available. The FIVB
reserves the right to review from time to time, according to the
evolution of technology, what actions or events can be challenged.

10. The ETT may be mounted on a support for ease of use. Each ETT
will be hardwired and in consequence will be dedicated to each
court. Teams will not carry the ETT with them when changing
court.

11. The software will prevent a challenge being requested 5 seconds

from the moment a point is inserted into the e-score system. This
is to avoid a challenged claim being made a long time after the
completion of the rally (unless in the case of item 13 below, where
this is needed to prevent an unfair situation).

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12. The reason for the challenge will be explained by the announcer to
the spectators in the venue through the Public Announcer (PA)
audio system and will be shown on a graphic in a clear caption on
the giant screen (whenever the resource is available), e.g.:

CHALLENGE
Ball IN/OUT
Team XXX

CHALLENGE
Block Touch
Team XXX

CHALLENGE
Net Touch
Team XXX

CHALLENGE
Antenna Touch
Team XXX

CHALLENGE
Foot Fault
Team XXX

The initial graphic will be followed by the FIVB Official Review video
footage with embedded graphics (as generated by the Challenge
System provider) and will feature the following possible results:

2016 Challenge Regulations.04.05.2016 Page 3

 Official Review
Ball IN/OUT

IN
or
OUT

Official Review
Block Touch

TOUCH
or
NO TOUCH

Official Review
Net Fault

FAULT
or
NO FAULT
or
NO FAULT
(TOUCH AFTER BALL OUT OF PLAY)
or
FAULT
(PRIOR FAULT COUNTS)

Official Review
Antenna Touch by Player

TOUCH
or
NO TOUCH
or
TOUCH
(AFTER BALL OUT OF PLAY)

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 Official Review
Antenna Touch by ball

TOUCH
or
NO TOUCH

Official Review
Foot Fault

FAULT
or
NO FAULT

There will be a graphic for eventual cases of unavailable footage (see

Regulation 30). The decision then can be “Referee call stands”, or “Rally
replay”, depending on the circumstances.

Official Review
XXXXXXXXXXX (name of the suspected fault)

Picture Unavailable
Referee Decision stands
or
Picture Unavailable
Point Replay

13. Challenges can only be made using the ETTs (see Regulation 34).
The request will be made through two consecutive actions. At first,
there will be a single “CHALLENGE” button to press on the tablet.
Pressing it will request a challenge, trigger the challenge audio,
and stop the action; automatically, a new series of buttons will
appear, presenting the Challenge options for the team to indicate
the suspected fault being challenged. The team must not spend
more than five seconds to indicate their suspected fault. The two-
step procedure is designed to help coaches in pressing the correct
button when they indicate the suspected fault being challenged. In
case of delay, the referee may apply a “delay warning”.

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14. The position of the Challenge Booth and equipment must be
determined by the availability of a Challenge Referee according to
the competition format.

a) When a dedicated Challenge Referee is not available, the

Challenge System equipment and operation must take place
courtside, as the 2nd Referee will perform the duty of
checking the challenge.

b) If there is a Reserve Referee available, but no dedicated

Challenge Referee, the equipment and operation are still
positioned courtside, as the Reserve Referee may have to
replace one of the referees officiating the match in case of an
emergency, and the Reserve Referee will act as Challenge
Referee to speed up the process. The 2nd Referee will only
act as Challenge Referee in the absence of the Challenge
Referee, or Reserve Referee or when the Reserve Referee
has to replace one of the referees officiating the match.

c) In major events, where a dedicated Challenge Referee is

present, the Challenge Booth should be placed away from
the court and as close as possible to the operation of the
giant screen, to avoid interference, guarantee privacy, and
speed up the execution of the Challenge process. In case an
emergency happens with the Challenge Referee, the
Reserve Referee will replace him. The Challenge referee will
use FIVB approved referee uniform (same as 1st, 2nd, and
Reserve referee).

15. The Challenge Referee / 2nd Referee / Reserve Referee

(whichever is applicable in the circumstances of the individual
event) is responsible for checking the issue being Challenged with
the support of the Challenge Technicians. As soon as an action is
challenged, either during or at the end of the rally, the 1st Referee
will direct the Challenge Referee to examine the video evidence.
This is done by use of the whistle (attracts attention to the
challenge and interrupts / takes precedence over other match
action) and by using the hand signal – making the sign of a
RECTANGLE (simulating the giant screen display) and afterwards
indicating the team that requested the “Challenge).

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16. Communication by wireless radiofrequency (Referee
Communication Device) among all referees is also mandatory in
major events.

17. When a team calls a challenge, the 2nd Referee will immediately
confirm to the Challenge Referee the suspected fault being
challenged. The examination of the images must be conducted as
quickly as possible but precision of judgement must prevail over
speed. The Challenge Referee will then transmit what has been
revealed by the examination of the action being challenged directly
via the Referee Communication Device to the 1st Referee. As
soon as the image of the challenge is shown in the arena screen,
the 1st Referee will announce the final decision and indicate the
team winning the point and thus serving next. Should the Reserve
Referee or the 2nd Referee act as Challenge Referee, he/she will
also use the Referee Communication Device to inform the 1st
Referee of the result of the challenge examination.

18. The 2nd Referee should only move to the side of the team that
loses the rally after the 1st Referee makes the decision and
indicates the team to serve next.

19. After the result of the Challenge has been transmitted, the match
continues, with the score adjusted as necessary.

20. Consequences of successful / unsuccessful Challenges:

a. A second unsuccessful Challenge by a team in a set will

result in the requesting team being unable to request more
Challenges for the remainder of that set.

b. This must be indicated to the coach by the 2nd Referee (also

in the ETT) and announced by the announcer to the public
through the PA.

c. In competitions where the tablet technology allows, the

number of remaining Challenges by each team will also be
part of the information displayed in the venue score boards.

21. The 1st Referee has the right to request a Challenge review
should he/she feel unclear about his/ her decision in any rally.
The 1st Referee will whistle, make the Challenge signal and will
also indicate with both hands that he is asking for the Challenge

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 personally. This action immediately triggers the Challenge
examination process. The 1st Referee’s right to ask for a
challenge is one more way to ensure that the final decision of the
awarding of the points to the teams will be fair, will correspond to
the effort of the athletes, and will not be impacted by human
error.

22. Since any rally can have several distinct phases, the examination of
the action will focus only on the sequence of play corresponding to
the action being questioned by the team or as directed by the 1st
referee if he/ she initiates the challenge personally. For instance:
once the attack/block phase has been initiated, no challenge can be
accepted for any fault suspected in a previous phase of the attack.
It is important to emphasize that the first fault observed in the
sequence of images under review, even if not the specific action
being challenged, will prevail over any subsequent fault and will
form the basis of the 1st Referee’s final decision, determining the
fair and correct award of the point contested in the rally. (i.e.:
Challenge request for ball “out” with the footage showing the defensive
player slightly touching the ball before it lands out - Challenge decision
would be “TOUCH”.)

23. Should a team that challenges the final action WIN the rally anyway,
the Challenge will automatically be declined (as unnecessary).

24. A Team may request a Challenge only once within the same
interruption – i.e. they cannot challenge a second time within the
same interruption. However, both teams may request a Challenge
within the same interruption.

25. If two teams challenge in the same interruption for actions which
happened within a very short time interval - same action-phase - i.e.
a completed attack from the attack line is challenged by team A, but
team B challenges for a touch on the net by the team A block, which
is part of the same action sequence - the whole sequence of that
action will be reviewed and the first fault observed, if any, will
prevail.

Even if a team loses the Challenge due to its claimed fault not being
the first one observed in a play-action sequence, if the evidence

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 nevertheless demonstrates that the fault occurred, then they will still
keep the number of Challenges available.

26. All players must remain on the court for the time needed to assess
the video footage. No substitutes / replacement players / liberos or
bench personnel may enter the court because the result of the
challenge may have an impact on the need for substitution or
replacement.

27. The Challenge Referee may request the Challenge System

operators to view different angles, zoom in/out and use any other
resource available to make his/ her best informed judgement.

28. While the Challenge is under review, the video screens in the
competition hall must display the approved FIVB Challenge holding
graphic (see examples in Regulation 12 and see Regulation 30).

29. As a general principle, a suspected fault that is NOT CONFIRMED

by the video footage, is considered as NOT having occurred.

Hence, if the footage provided by the Challenge System does not allow
the Challenge Referee to make a clear ruling (because the relevant
action is obscured, or the image is non-existent due to some technical
failure, for instance) the point must be replayed. The Challenging team
will retain the Challenges which it had at the moment of the request,
and will maintain this number when the match resumes.

30. Under no circumstances should the images of the action being

challenged be shown on the giant screen in the competition hall while
the challenge is being reviewed. However, the images must
mandatorily be shown in the giant screen as soon the Challenge
Referee completes his assessment. In case there is a failure in the
giant screen, the images will be made public after the match.

31. After a Challenge and before the game resumes, the 2nd Referee
must (in compliance with his/her duties according to the rules)
verify that the score sheet and all scoreboards in the competition
hall are correct and the players on court are in their correct
positions (rotation) according to the e-Scoresheet.

32. Teams which interrupt the rally for a Challenge request but whose
“challenge” is not from the tablet menu will lose the rally

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 automatically, will lose one of their challenges for that set, and will
additionally be given a delay warning or penalty as appropriate.

33. A special tablet for the 1st Referee should be provided, a little
bigger than his/her other tablet, in order to facilitate observation of
the final challenge image, and to permit information to be more
clearly displayed - so the 1st referee will have two tablets available
during the match.

34. In case the Electronic Team Tablet (E.T.T.) fails, the team coach
or the assistant coach are allowed to make a manual signal and a
direct oral request to the referees.

35. In case there is a general failure in the Challenge System, the

Second Referee will communicate the teams of the failure, and the
match will be officiated normally by the referees according to the
rules of the game (with no Challenge requests). If the Challenge
System works again, this will be communicated to the teams, and
Challenges will be allowed from that moment on.

36. The result of the Electronic Review, as soon as announced by the

1st referee, is final and non-appealable.

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