The first usage of Video Assistant Refereeing (VAR) caused controversy in the World Cup group stage game between France and Australia.

With the score at 0-0 after a goalless first half, Paul Pobga sent through a slide-rule pass for Antoine Griezmann to chase.

Griezmann looked to have been robbed by an excellent sliding tackle by Australia defender Josh Ridson, and the referee allowed play to continue. Moments later, the referee was given the opportunity to consult the VAR service, and decided to award a penalty.

The replay indicated that Risdon may have got a slight touch on the ball, but definitely caught Griezmann in the box, leading the referee to give a spot kick, from which Griezmann converted.

It is the first time that VAR has been used at the World Cup, and there will be relief that the decision made was probably correct one, though that did not social media to complain that the wrong decision had been arrived at, amongst other criticisms.

Gary Lineker believed that the decision to award a penalty was probably the wrong one:

While pundit Eni Aluko thought the referee had it right after the review:

The Australians may have felt hard done by, but Mile Jedinak converted a penalty for Australia just minutes later, but any sense of injustice would have been compounded by goal line technology then being used for Pogba’s insouciant chip, ruling that the ball had crossed the line to make the score 2-1.