France scores crucial goal in World Cup final after VAR overturned a no-call into a handball
- Video review has officially made an impact on the World Cup final.
- After a French corner kick, Croatian Ivan Perisic initially got away with a handball but was later called for the foul to award France a penalty kick after VAR video review.
- Antoine Griezmann sent the shot from the spot home to give France a 2-1 lead heading into halftime.
Video review has made quite an impact in its first World Cup.
The VAR or "Video assistant referee" system has gone over pretty well in its debut at the World Cup, correcting egregious errors and helping to keep calls in the box more consistent.
In the World Cup final on Sunday, VAR came down with its biggest decision yet. As the first half of the final was coming to a close, France launched a corner kick into the box that was quickly played out of bounds - but not before the French side all raised their hands to argue for a handball.
While a penalty was not awarded right away, the play went to video review, and replays showed that Ivan Perisic had made illegal contact with the ball in the box.
When a penalty was given, Antoine Griezmann stepped to the spot with confidence and struck home the go-ahead goal to take France to a 2-1 lead.
It's safe to say that French World Cup fans are extremely pleased with the addition of VAR for the tournament.
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