TEHRAN, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Iran's international soccer referee Alireza Faghani defended the use of Video Assistant Referee (VAR), saying that video reviews help prevent major mistakes in the 2018 World Cup.
"VAR minimizes refereeing mistakes during the competitions. VAR is not complete but it will undoubtedly improve in the future," Faghani was quoted as saying by Tehran Times on Sunday.
"In 2009, French striker Thierry Henry intentionally handled the ball to set up William Gallas's decisive goal against the Ireland in World Cup play-off in Paris. France went through thanks to a refereeing error and Ireland were eliminated with a sense of injustice," he said.
"In the Iran and Portugal match, the referee (Enrique Caceres) awarded Cristiano Ronaldo a penalty following a VAR intervention. And also Iran were awarded a penalty in extra time," the Iranian referee said as the evidence for the approval of VAR use in the just-concluded World Cup competitions.
Faghani along with his countrymen Reza Sokhandan and Mohammad Mansouri took charge of the third-place match between Belgium and England in the 2018 World Cup.
