It’s about time.
Video replays were used for the first time in an international match on Thursday night. Italy hosted France in Bari, and 33 minutes into the match, the home side earned a corner.
The ball was swung in, Daniele de Rossi connected with a header which appeared to hit the arm of French defender Layvin Kurzawa and the Azzurri players called for a penalty.
Here it is from another angle:
Referee Bjorn Kuipers was unsure as to whether to award the home side a penalty so, for the first time ever in an international game, video replay was consulted to determine the correct decision, and the game was held up.
However, despite long-held fears that the introduction of technology to aid referee decisions would break the natural flow of a game, the process occurred seamlessly.
De Rossi protested the decision.
Some French players approached the referee, who appealed for calm while an assistant re-watched the incident.
A throw-in was delayed, but the whole process, from the initial incident, to appeal, to the referee consulting his assistants, to a decision being made and the game resuming, was completed within 30 seconds.
The referee decided against awarding a penalty, and France went on to win 1-3.
The video replay system has already been tested in the third tier of football in the United States, and is due to be trialled in six more countries – including Italy and Germany – ahead of the World Cup in two-years time.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino wants it to be used at the tournament in Russia in 2018
“You could see that the referee stopped play for a couple of seconds and during those seconds the two referees in the truck verified that there was no penalty,” he told Italian TV after Thursday’s game.
“We’ve seen football history here. We’re in 2016 so it’s about time to try it.”
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