Earlier in the day, Belgium were the beneficiaries of a non-existent penalty. Eden Hazard was brought down right on the edge of the area and the referee was quick to point to the spot. He didn’t even make an effort to run to the VAR screen and look into it to validate his decision. Because had he consulted the video technology, the penalty wouldn’t have stood and Belgian would then have had to make do with only a free-kick.
In this game, Mexico were at the favourable end of the penalty after Jang Hyun-soo appeared to thwart Guardado’s cross with his hands. But replays showed the ball actually hit the underside of his hand while he lunged into a tackle. The VAR rulebook suggests only a deliberate block by the hands should result into a penalty. But once again, the match official had no qualms in sticking to his original decision.
This was a close call, but in both cases the VAR should’ve been called into action, prompting a closer look at the incidents.