Paris: Spain twice benefited from the use of video assistance to defeat France 2-0 on Tuesday.
Antoine Griezmann headed in what appeared to be the opening goal at the Stade de France shortly after half-time, but it was ruled out for offside after consultation with the video assistant referee.
David Silva then converted from the penalty spot after a foul by Laurent Koscielny, and the Spaniards again profited from technology as the referee reversed an offside decision that had initially negated Gerard’s Deulofeu 78th-minute effort.
The revolutionary technology has been used before — notably in this season’s Club World Cup and France’s match with Italy last September.
But the friendly match at the Stade de France was arguably the biggest fixture in which it has been used to date.
Determined to maintain the “flow of the game”, the International Football Association Board has set out strict criteria of when technology can be used.
They hope to only remove ‘clear errors in match-changing situations’ with ‘minimum interference [and] maximum benefit’.
Examples of when it can be used are: goals [including offsides], penalty decisions, red cards and cases of mistaken identity
“We do not want to be NFL,” IFAB’s technical director David Elleray said, “we just want to get rid of headline mistakes and scandals.”
