A football fan enjoys the atmosphere during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Group B match Friday at Fisht Stadium in Sochi, Russia. Photo by Chris Brunskill/UPI | License Photo

June 17 (UPI) -- FIFA is satisfied with the operation of the innovative VAR (Video Assistance Referee) system at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Norway's NRK television channel said on Sunday, citing the world's governing football body.

VAR was first-ever used at the world football tournament on Saturday to award penalty kicks during France vs Australia and Peru vs Denmark matches. FIFA said it was satisfied with the referees' decision taken after the use of VAR.


The International Football Association Board (IFAB), which oversees changes of regulations in the sport of football, approved the use of Video Assistance Referee systems in 2016. The VAR system was tested by FIFA in Russia during the 2017 Confederations Cup tournament, held between June 17 and July 2 in four cities across the country, namely at the Spartak Stadium in Moscow, the St. Petersburg Stadium, the Fisht Stadium in Sochi and the Kazan Arena in Kazan. The innovative technologies are currently used at matches of the professional football clubs' tournaments in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.

Russia is holding its first-ever edition of the FIFA World Cup, which kicked off in Moscow with a spectacular opening show at the Luzhniki Stadium on the night of June 14.

Russia selected 11 host cities to be the venues for the matches of the 2018 World Cup and they are Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg and Samara.