Rise Against Machine: Twitter Afire as France Beats Australia Due to VAR System

Today’s game between France and Australia featured two penalties. Griezmann scored in France’s favor after the referee reviewed the original penalty decision with the help of the automated system, put in place for the first time at a World Cup match.

Minutes later, Australia scored a clear penalty, but with nine minutes left to the final whistle, a shot by Paul Pogba struck the bar, leading France to a triumphant 2:1 victory. The dynamic game, however, did not stop fans from claiming that the VAR system had ruined the game. They vented their dissatisfaction on Twitter during the game:

Twitter has literally exploded with memes under the respective hashtag #FRAAUS over the use the VAR system and the match's outcome. 

Users vigorously engaged in speculations over the lack of effectiveness the automatic referee system might demonstrate:

Some joked that that there might be human beings behind the VAR system:

The French victory naturally attracted much humor:

Some users joked over Australia potentially taking revenge over the use of the VAR system, which they failed to benefit from, by posting hilarious memes:

Hordes of Twitter users opted for video memes, ironically speculating on the typical posture and gestures of French defender Hernandez throughout the game against the Aussies. In one Tweet his prototype just falls down of the floor unconscious, while another one alludes to Hernandez, instinctively flying several meters before landing on the ground:

Others contemplated Paul Pogba’s glorious score as opposed to David de Gea’s costly error against Portugal last night.