As the World Cup Round One matches came to a close yesterday and all of the 32 teams have played at least once on the big stage, the 2018 competition started to take some sort of early shape as to which countries would do well, which nations might struggle and what kind of tournament we’re in for in Russia.

The holders Germany unexpectedly lost to Mexico; South American giants Brazil and Argentina could only draw with modest European opposition Switzerland and Iceland respectively while a 3-3 firecracker between Portugal and Spain became an instant classic in the World Cup all-time match pantheon.

Early games show a heaven of a lot of goals scored – 38 in total and many from expected sources such as Cristiano Ronaldo with a world-class opening-game hat-trick against Spain and Harry Kane’s brace for England to the rather more surprise goal-scoring mines of Russia – 5 in their first game vs Saudi Arabia and 3 against Egypt last night.

Of this bounty, an unprecedentedly high percentage of these goals have come from set-pieces – free-kicks, penalties and corners – and, some from what the tournament may come to be remembered for – the first major use of the Video-Assisted Referee.

Its this controversial subject that has taken the gloss off what has been a superb tournament so far with everything you want from a global show-piece – revealing a dark underbelly reminding us why the tournament is in Russia in the first place and the potential implications of that to come.

There was, of course, a bitter feud between Russia and England over the 2018 World Cup with both proud nations vying for the right to host the greatest sporting tournament on Earth which Russia prevailed in with the help of France’s now-disgraced Michel Platini and the alliances which brokered The World Cup in favour of Moscow have seemingly continued onto the pitch.

Former FIFA President Sepp Blatter even revealed that it had been decided to award the 2018 World Cup to Russia before the voting process – which cost the British tax payer £21M and involved Royal Princes and David Beckham – had even began:

“In 2010 we had a discussion of the World Cup and then we went to a double decision. For the World Cups it was agreed that we go to Russia because it’s never been in Russia, eastern Europe...”

Generally, the use of VAR has benefited the tournament awarding penalties the referees had missed like in the Sweden game. Yet VAR’s potentially more sinister use – the ability to covertly influence matches, the fate of teams and the shape of the tournament by intervening when it is not deserved or NOT interfering when it should be used – has also been in evidence, quite starkly in the France – Australia and England – Tunisia games.

France were awarded a fortuitous penalty while being held to a 0-0 stalemate by Australia when VAR unexpectedly intervened when Antoine Griezmann had lost control of the ball in the penalty box with no chance of recovery after a fine Australian tackle nicked the ball from him yet the undeserved penalty would prove decisive in a 2-1 victory for Les Bleus.

Pundits on Greizmann VAR penalty it wasn't a penalty, Australia hard done by

“They’ve got away with one today, France”

opined BBC stalwart Mark Lawrenson, and it remains the most pro-active and undeserved interference of the VAR to date in the tournament.

Contrast this with England’s experience of VAR – or rather non-experience of VAR – against Tunisia on Monday night and raises the question ref favouritism or even bias.

England v Tunisia 2-1● Harry Kane first & last minuter goal (from stands)

After England Captain Harry Kane scored the goal that put The Three Lions into the lead versus Tunisia, he was twice on the end of some very rough treatment in the penalty area despite one of the mandates of VAR being to reverse clear errors. Neither time when he was held and grappled in the area did the Video-Assisted Referees help England.

The first incident when he was clearly bundled to the floor occurred just after England’s John Stones blatantly pushed Tunisia’s no. 17 Ellyes Skhiri which the ref and VAR either missed both or decided it was six of one, half a dozen of the other:

Yet after a fairly soft penalty was given against Kyle Walker in the 34th minute - the Manchester City full-back playing in a central English three was penalised for a flailing arm connecting with Fakhreddine Ben Youssef, despite their being no way the attacker could reach the ball - Kane was clearly held a second time when attacking an England corner and nothing was done either by the on-pitch official or VAR.

England Manager Gareth Southgate said after seeing Kane win his side the game:

“I think my observation would be that if it’s a penalty at one end, it has to be a penalty at the other. That needs some review, I would say. We have to abide by it and leave it to the powers that be but it’s clear that if a foul is given against Kyle Walker then it has to be given for Harry being hauled to the ground.”

In defence of the Colombian official Wilmar Roldan, former Referee Mark Halsey representing the respected The Ref Online group led by the world’s best referee Mark Clattenburg, said he agreed with the Tunisian penalty yet couldn’t understand why Kane wasn’t awarded a penalty on either occasion for two obvious KMIs.

FIFA’s official response to England claims of bias from the lack of VAR was:

“These incidents will be analysed.”

and notably, it did not back publicly its officials’ decisions as it had after the VAR incidents in the France-Australia and Brazil-Switzerland games.

Yet after FIFA promised just last week via Pierluigi Collina in the presence of Referee Chief Massimo Busacca that “penalty box wrestling” would be a thing of the past due to the 25 cameras in operation, its an embarrassment for the football governing body and raises questions about the integrity of its officials. 

It emerged last night that Brazil were lodging a formal complaint about the use of VAR in their game against Switzerland.

Although the English Premier League was the only major football nation not to agree to an early adoption of VAR, the country that gave birth to the beautiful game England – players, manager, pundits, journalists and fans alike - expect fair play at the very least and FIFA need to deliver it from now on and in doing so could accelerate its PL introduction.