FIVE VAR CONTROVERSIES AT WORLD CUP

16 JUNE : FRANCE V AUSTRALIA

1France benefited from a controversial first use of VAR technology at a World Cup as they laboured to a 2-1 win over Australia. Antoine Griezmann put Les Bleus ahead with a contentious second-half penalty in Kazan after referee Andres Cunha adjudged the forward had been fouled by Joshua Risdon having watched a replay of the incident at the side of the pitch. Uruguayan official Cunha initially played on following Risdon’s challenge on Griezmann before pointing to the penalty spot after consulting VAR and viewing a screen next to the dugouts.

18 JUNE: SWEDEN V S. KOREA

2Sweden’s winning penalty was awarded following review by VAR. Referee Joel Aguilar initially allowed play to go on after Viktor Claesson was hacked down by Lee Jae-sung but called a halt moments later, as South Korea launched a counter-attack, after a word in his ear. He looked at the incident again on the pitchside screen before pointing to the spot. Andreas Granqvist made the most of the opportunity and scored.

21 JUNE: FRANCE V PERU

3It was a case of mistaken identity in Peru’s 1-0 defeat by France. Nabil Fekir had just come on for the 1998 winners and was poleaxed by Pedro Aquino, but referee Mohammed Abdulla Hassan booked Edison Flores instead. VAR intervened and told the official he had the wrong man and Aquino was shown the yellow card.

25 JUNE: IRAN V PORTUGAL

4Portugal were awarded a penalty after referee Enrique Caceres double-checked Cristiano Ronaldo had been fouled by Morteza Pouraliganji. Ronaldo, who missed the penalty, was later the subject of a red card review after swinging an arm at Pouraliganji off the ball, but was only shown yellow. In stoppage time VAR awarded Iran a controversial penalty after Cedric Soares was harshly adjudged to have handled, securing a dramatic 1-1 draw for the minnows.

25 JUNE: SPAIN V MOROCCO

5Spain were trailing Morocco 2-1 and looked set to finish second in Group B. Substitute Iago Aspas then flicked the ball into the net in the dying seconds and saw that the flag was up for offside – but the goal was subsequently given following a VAR review which showed he was onside. The draw meant Spain finished top, and now face a last-16 clash with Russia rather than Uruguay.