History was made in Wednesday's Club World Cup semifinal between Atletico Nacional and Kashima Antlers when a touchline video assistant referee (VAR) employed replay technology in an official FIFA match to award a penalty.
The decision came with half an hour gone and the match still goalless when Kashima's Daigo Nishi went to ground after tangling with Atletico defender Orlando Berrio.
Nishi had been standing in an offside position when a long free kick was played into the area but was deemed not to have been interfering with play.
Referee Viktor Kassai -- who did not see the incident -- ran to the touchline where he took approximately 30 seconds to watch a replay of what happened before pointing to the spot.
Shouma Doi converted to put the hosts 1-0 ahead. The Japanese side went on to win
3-0 to become the first Asian side ever to reach the final of the competition. They will face either Spanish giants Real Madrid or Mexico's Club America -- who play in the other semifinal on Thursday -- in Sunday's final.
"This is the first-ever live trial with Video Assistant Referees at a FIFA competition, so this is something that is new for everyone -- especially to see the referee run to the video replay area at the side of the field,"
said Massimo Busacca, FIFA's Head of Refereeing.
"In the incident tonight, the communication between the referee and the video assistant referee was clear, the technology worked well, and ultimately the final decision was taken by the referee, which will always be the case since the VARs are only there to support."