FIFA finally explains Japan's goal that knocked Germany out of World Cup

Germany were eliminated from the World Cup in Qatar when Japan defeated Spain with a contentious goal, and FIFA has now provided an explanation for the use of video assistant referees (VAR).

The contentious Japan goal that eliminated Germany from the FIFA World Cup in Qatar has finally been explained by FIFA.

Despite defeating Costa Rica 4-2, Hansi Flick's team was eliminated from Group E as Japan overcame a deficit to defeat Spain 2-1. But after a protracted investigation to see if the ball had left play before being crossed for Ao Tanaka to tap in, their winning goal was clouded in dispute.

Initial replays seemed to indicate that the ball had crossed the line, but a fresh angle that emerged following the end of regulation time revealed that the ball had not quite crossed the line. FIFA received criticism for how they handled the incident, and the fact that the VAR replays were not made public during or immediately following the game sparked a discussion.

However, FIFA have now issued an explanation on their official Twitter handle, writing, "Japan's second goal in their 2-1 win over Spain was checked by VAR to determine if the ball had gone out of play. The video match officials used the goal line camera images to check if the ball was still partially on the line or not.

"Other cameras may offer misleading images but on the evidence available, the whole of the ball was not out of play."