Japan confirmed their spot in the last-16 of the World Cup in highly controversial circumstances with a 2-1 win over Spain which also meant Germany suffered a shock elimination. Alvaro Morata put Spain in front after 11 minutes but Japan came from behind again through goals from Ritsu Doan and Ao Tanaka.
Not only were Japan able to seal their place beyond the group stages with a memorable comeback victory but by beating Spain, Germany were knocked out of the competition despite their 4-2 win over Costa Rica.
For Tanaka's goal, the ball was extremely close to being out of play when Karou Mitoma stretched to cross back in for Tanaka, leading to confusion for many football fans watching the match as in one angle it looked as if the ball was indeed out.
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Despite the camera shot shown on ITV which seemed to suggest the ball was out, the goal was given after a lengthy VAR delay and Japan were able to hold on for the remaining 40 minutes that saw them advance as Group E winners with Spain finishing second.
According to reports, the IIFA has now explained the decision despite broadcasters now showing how the VAR officials came to their decision. The law states that the ball is in play "if the curvature of the ball is over the line". The VAR decided that was the case having reviewed the available camera angles.
Meanwhile former referee Peter Walton said on ITV: "There’s a misconception in law that just because the part of the ball that is on the floor is over the line is out - well it clearly isn’t because it’s the curve of the ball. We see it often with corner kicks where it’s over the line but not quite over the line.
"In this instance, what the VAR is looking for is the evidence to suggest to the referee that the ball has clearly left the field of play and on the evidence that we’re seeing, he doesn’t have that in front of him.
"What I would suggest is the goal line technology, those cameras are being used for VAR to discover whether it has left the field of play so there are angles that will show that.
"If however, a player’s boot or a player’s shin has gone over the top of the ball and you can’t see it clearly then the VAR will say to the referee: ‘I don’t have that evidence to give you, Mr Referee, stay with your on-field decision’.
"We’ll see what pictures FIFA show us but the law is specific, the ball is still in-play if the curvature of the ball breaks that line - do we have that evidence to show to the contrary? No we don’t."
From his comments, Walton seems to suggest that although it's clear the bottom of the ball is out of play, the curvature of the ball may indicate that it is still in play and is therefore not completely over the line.
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