FIVE oCCASIonS wHEn VAR MADE A DIFFEREnCE

France 2-1 Australia June 16, 2018 Group C

France’s first game against Australia was the first time VAR was used to award a penalty. Griezmann was inside the penalty area when he went down under contact from Josh Risdon. Referee Andres Cunha allowed play to continue, but stopped the game after being alerted by the VAR. The referee checked replays on a pitch-side monitor and awarded a penalty from which Griezmann opened France’s account.

Brazil 2-0 Costa Rica June 22, 2018 Group E

The game was scoreless with 12 minutes remaining and Brazil were pushing when Neymar went to ground under a touch from Giancarlo Gonzalez, leading referee Bjorn Kuipers to award a penalty. The VAR intervened, and the referee watched the replays and reversed his decision, marking the first time a VAR review had cancelled the award of a penalty.

Iran 1-1 Portugal June 25, 2018 Group B

Portugal captain Ronaldo was fouled in the box and the referee awarded a record 19th penalty before the knockout rounds. Ronaldo missed his spot kick, but the decision eclipsed the previous record tally of 18 penalties awarded at the 2002 World Cup hosted by Japan and South Korea. VAR was used on two more occasions of note in the same match.

Spain 2-2 Morocco June 25, 2018 Group B

Iago Aspas had scored a late goal to draw Spain level with Morocco, but his celebrations were cut short by the linesman’s flag for offside. Referee Ravshan Irmatov was alerted by the VAR to check the replays and overturned the linesman’s decision and awarded the goal, sending Spain through to the knockout stages.

Sweden 1-0 Switzerland July 3, 2018 Round of 16

Sweden were 1-0 up and under pressure from Switzerland when they broke through the Swiss cordon. Martin was bearing down on the Swiss goal when he was fouled by Michael Lang and the referee awarded a penalty and showed Lang a red card. After consulting the VAR, the referee realised the foul had taken place outside the area and changed his decision.