History was made in France’s World Cup 2018 opener against Australia on Saturday as VAR was used to give a penalty for the first time in the history of the tournament.
Antoine Griezmann was running through on goal before he was seemingly caught on the heel as he entered the penalty area by Josh Risdon’s outstretched leg.
Initially the referee Andres Cunha allowed play to continue before he suddenly stopped the game after receiving an alert in his ear than he should look at the replays on the pitch-side monitor.
After watching the replay three or four times Cunha decided to make history by using VAR to award a penalty for the first time ever. Antoine Griezmann stepped up and thumped the resulting penalty into the corner of the net.
It is the second time VAR has been used in two days after it was first used to check Diego Costa’s opener against Portugal on Friday night. That decision was upheld, and the goal given, but Griezmann’s was the first time the technology has been used to actually overturn decision.
The replay looked like it was the correct call and it is another small victory for VAR at this tournament.
