Socceroos captain Mile Jedinak admitted that his side had to accept the defeat in the 2018 FIFA World Cup opener against France
Australia were beaten 2-1 by France due to the decision of the Uruguayan referee Andres Cunha to award the French a penalty by video assistant referee (VAR) technology.
After Australian defender Josh Risdon was initially cleared of wrongdoing in a tackle on French star Antoine Greizman, referee Cunha decided to consult the video footage of the incident and pointed to the penalty spot.
Without any mistake, Griezmann went on to score the first-ever VAR-awarded penalty in World Cup history
In a press conference on Sunday, Jedinak said that Australia simply must accept that VAR is now part of football.
“If I said I wasn’t frustrated by this decision, I wouldn’t be lying,” he said, as quoted by Channel News Asia.
“But we can’t change it now. The score says 2-1, penalty to Griezmann and yellow card for Risdon. It is what it is.”
The Aston Villa midfielder reasoned: “It’s here and it’s here to stay. I think we just have to move on.
“People could debate it for as long as we’re here, and beyond. But you know what, it is what it is now and we have to move forward, as harsh as it may be.”
