SAMARA, Russia -- There have already been more penalties awarded in the first 28 games of the 2018 World Cup in Russia than in the entire tournament four years ago in Brazil.

Carlos Vela's penalty in Mexico's match with South Korea on Saturday was the 14th spot kick awarded so far, meaning there has now been a penalty once every two games, with 11 of the penalties having been successfully converted.

Belgium's Eden Hazard also scored from the spot after the video assistant referee (VAR) advised that he had been fouled in the penalty area during Belgium's 5-2 win over Tunisia earlier on Saturday.

In Brazil four years ago, there were only 13 penalties in the entire tournament. The World Cup record, set in 2002, stands at 18, with the current pace of penalties being awarded in Russia on pace to shatter that number.

The role of VAR goes a long way to explaining this trend, with six penalties so far being awarded following a video review and VAR has also confirmed referees' decisions on the field on several occasions.

Julian Finney/Getty Images

A penalty was also disallowed in Brazil's win over Costa Rica on Friday after VAR deemed there not to have been a foul on Neymar.

FIFA's director of refereeing, Massimo Busacca, said before the tournament that VAR would not be perfect at the tournament and so it has proved, with inconsistency in decision making frustrating teams and fans alike.

Both Brazil and England felt that VAR should have been used to review penalty decisions in their opening fixtures, while Australia coach Bert van Marwijk was left furious with the role the system played in his team's loss to France.

"I hoped that maybe one time there will be a referee [who is] very honest," the Dutchman told reporters after that match. "The body language was that he didn't know from my position. And then you have to take a decision."

However, FIFA remain convinced that VAR has been a success.

"Generally, it should be noted that FIFA is extremely satisfied with the level of refereeing to date and the successful implementation of the VAR system, which on the whole has been positively accepted and appreciated within our football community," said FIFA Media Relations Manager Giovanni Marti.

If the current rate of 0.5 penalties a game continues, then the World Cup is on course for a total of 32 spot kicks being awarded by the tournament's end.