More Penalties Awarded at Russia's World Cup Than in Whole Brazil Group Stage

SAMARA (Sputnik) - There have now been more penalties awarded at the 2018 World Cup in Russia so far than in the entire group stage of the previous tournament in Brazil in 2014, FIFA said via their official Twitter account on Thursday.
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Australia captain Mile Jedinak converted the 11th penalty of the tournament in the 38th minute of the match against Denmark in Samara on Thursday, which ended in a 1-1 draw. The spot-kick was awarded by the video assistant referee (VAR).

Only 10 penalties were awarded during the whole group stage of the World Cup in Brazil. The tournament in Russia is the first World Cup where VAR is used to help match officials avoid possible mistakes by reviewing video replays of game episodes.

VAR Penalty Helps Australia Hold Denmark to 1-1 Draw at FIFA World Cup
FIFA also reported in a press release on Thursday that more than a million spectators have attended the World Cup matches in Russia, with the average attendance of games being 97 percent of the total capacity of the stadiums.

The millionth fan attended the match between Denmark and Australia that ended in a 1-1 draw in Samara on Thursday. A total of 40,727 fans watched the game at the Samara Arena. According to the press release, more than 2.6 million tickets for the World Cup matches have been sold and the sales will continue till the last day of the tournament.

READ MORE: FIFA World Cup 2018 Breaks 1954 Record of Goalless Draws

The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicked off on June 14 and will continue until July 15, with the matches being played in 11 cities across Russia.

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