World Cup 2018 final referee: Nestor Pitana in VAR controversy as penalty decision headlines France vs Croatia

The Argentine needed all of his past acting experience in what proved to be a busy first half in the World Cup final

Known for his bulging biceps just as much as his officiating, referee Nestor Pitana was a fairly surprising choice for the World Cup final between France and Croatia.

Pitana bookended the tournament, taking charge of the opening match between Russia and Saudi Arabia and bringing the curtain down at the Luzhniki Stadium, becoming only the second Argentine referee to have the honour of officiating a World Cup final after compatriot Horacio Elizondo 12 years ago.

A former actor, Pitana should have been fairly well-versed at keeping both sides happy, though it took just 17 minutes for Croatia to feel aggrieved with his decision-making. It was Antoine Griezmann who was adjudged to be fouled, and it was Antoine Griezmann who delivered the free-kick that Mario Mandzukic headed into his own net.

Croatia went on to equalise, but their business was not done yet.

In the 35th minute, a fairly innocuous corner was deflected away by Ivan Perisic, yet the French went up in arms at what they felt was a blatant penalty. Replays quickly showed that the ball had hit his hand, with his left arm in a completely unnatural position as he jumped for the ball.

Now the pressure was on. Pitana spoke to the Video Assistant Referee, who gave him the green light that he should review the incident. He did just that, yet his uncertainty was clear.

Pitana thought...and thought...and thought a bit more.

Referee Nestor Pitana from Argentina points to the penalty box (AP)

Even when he appeared to come to a decision, he quickly spun on the spot and returned to the screen for one quick look, with every second of all that acting experience coming into use as he built the tension to a fever-pitch level.

Finally, he returned to the pitch, pointed to the spot and awarded the penalty that Griezmann coolly tucked home to put Les Bleus back into the lead in the 38th minute.

The decision infuriated the Croatians, but that was nothing compared to the tongue-lashing that Pitana received in the BBC studio. Alan Shearer led the way, claiming that his decision-making had been “ridiculous” and that both pivotal decisions were, in his opinion, wrong.

“They’re losing this game to a free-kick that wasn’t a free-kick, and penalty that definitely wasn’t penalty,” Shearer said.

Jurgen Klinsmann agreed, while Rio Ferdinand added: “Two bad decisions have really turned this game on its head.”

Griezmann tucked home the VAR-awarded penalty (Getty) (Getty Images)

Pitana has refereed more matches than any other official at Russia 2018, and despite overseeing the penalty shootout between Croatia and Denmark, the first ever VAR incident at a World Cup during Russia’s opener and France’s quarter-final victory over Uruguay, his biggest performance – as all good actors know – was saved for last.