A new camera angle has emerged that appears to show why Japan's controversial winning goal against Spain was allowed at the World Cup.
Despite initial TV camera angles giving the perception the ball was clearly over the line and out of play when Kaoru Mitoma crossed for Ao Tanaka to score the goal that won the match and ultimately knocked Germany out of the competition, it seems it was actually something of an optical illusion.
The law states that the the ball remains in play if the curvature of the ball is on any part of the line, which the VAR decided was the case after consulting replays, including goal line cameras. Put another way, the entirety of the ball and its curvature has to be past the entirety of the line for it to be out. Strangely, no definitive camera angles that showed it was still in were made available by FIFA's host broadcaster, which enraged pundits and viewers.
