Explained: How a chip in the ball allowed World Cup's fastest-ever goal by a sub to stand - ESPN

Video assistant referee (VAR) causes controversy every week, whether it be the Premier League, Champions League or FA Cup, but how are decisions made and are they correct?

This FIFA World Cup, we take a look at the major incidents to examine and explain the process in terms of the VAR protocol and the Laws of the Game. Read more

Andy Davies (@andydaviesref) is a former Select Group referee, with over 12 seasons on the elite list, working across the Premier League and Championship. With extensive experience at the elite level, he has operated within the VAR space in the Premier League and offers a unique insight into the processes, rationale and protocols that are delivered on a matchday.

Referee: Yael Falcón Pérez
VAR: Juan Lara
Time: 84th minute
Incident: VAR Overturn. Goal awarded to Sweden via a VAR review and use of 'Connected Ball Tracking technology, with the original on-field decision of offside and no goal overturned.

What happened? Sweden's Mattias Svanberg scored the fourth goal of the game with his first touch, just 12 seconds after coming off the bench — the fastest goal ever at a World Cup by a substitute — but it was ruled offside.

However, VAR overturned the decision after ruling there was a slight flick on the ball by his teammate Alexander Isak which played Svanberg onside. A decision they reached by using Adidas' Connected Ball Technology (which is similar to the «snickometer» device used in cricket to tell if a player has hit the ball with their bat.)

(Credit: SVT)

VAR review: The key focus on this review was centered around a potential touch by Isak before the ball reached Svanberg, as this would reset the play and determine if the goal was allowed.

To the naked eye, this was impossible to judge,