Watch FIFA use video replay for the first time to give a penalty
Like it or not, but video replay is here and its impact on the Beautiful Game is growing.
History was made on Wednesday when video replay was used to award a penalty kick in a FIFA-hosted event for the first time during the Club World Cup. Japan’s Kashima Antlers earned a penalty kick after a referee watching monitors from a control room flagged a foul from South America’s Atletico Nacional. Video replay showed Atletico’s Orlando Berrio tripped the Antlers’ Daigo Nishi in the box.
Around the 45-second mark below, you can see the foul and the referee watching a replay on the sideline after he was alerted on his headset by the video referee:
“This is the first-ever live trial with Video Assistant Referees at a FIFA competition, so this is something that is new for everyone – especially to see the referee run to the video replay area at the side of the field,” said Massimo Busacca, FIFA’s Head of Refereeing, in a press release.
“In the incident tonight, the communication between the referee and the video assistant referee was clear, the technology worked well, and ultimately the final decision was taken by the referee, which will always be the case since the VARs are only there to support.”
The Japanese side won the semifinal match, 3-0, and will advance to face either Real Madrid or Club America in the final.
Video replay in soccer has only been in a trial phase up until now, with the experiment ending at the Club World Cup, according to FIFA. Now, they will review how the test-runs went and make a determination about whether or not to allow video replay globally in competition.
It seems like a pretty good bet that video replay will get the green light going forward. FIFA president Gianni Infantino has already said he would like to see video replay used at the 2018 World Cup, and trials have been ongoing in leagues around the world, mostly without a hitch. It was used in September to award a red card during the Dutch Cup.
IFAB, the organization that sets the laws of the game for FIFA, is expected to rule on allowing video replay in 2018.
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