Football will always produce debatable calls but, considering this has been the first AFC Asian Cup where VAR has been employed for the entirety of the tournament, things have been relatively smooth sailing thus far.
All that has now changed after a huge moment of controversy changed the complexion of Monday's round of 16 clash between Iraq and Jordan -- which ultimately finished a 3-2 win to the latter as they produced a miraculous comeback with two goals deep in injury-time.
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The sheer drama and excitement that was served up during the game, however, will certainly be overshadowed, and it will not be surprising if Iraq are crying foul for years to come.
In what proved to be a bruising encounter, things were originally as fair-spirited as they could be, and it was Jordan who would take the lead right on the stroke of half-time through a Yazan Al-Naimat effort.
What followed felt like it would be looked back on as one of the more memorable goal celebrations at the Asian Cup, as Al-Naimat ran off the field of play before gathering with four other teammates and sitting down cross-legged behind the substitutes benches while mimicking the action of eating with one's hands -- as is common practice in many parts of Asia.
Saad Natiq netted an equaliser for Iraq in the 68th minute and then, eight minutes later, came the moment of high controversy.
With a clinical finish, Iraq's star striker Aymen Hussein would find the bottom corner to put the Lions of Mesopotamia 2-1 ahead before wheeling away to the vicinity of the corner flag, where he would perform the exact same celebration that Al-Naimat had done in the first half. It is easy to assume he did so as a riposte to Jordan, but that is purely down to interpretation.
Hussein did not remove his jersey -- the most common act in football that incurs a yellow card for "excessive celebration" -- nor did he leave the field of play, which is in fact what the Jordan players did.
Hussein was also facing the touchline, but in a position of the field where he would not have had any opponents in his line of sight, so it is also difficult to see how it might have been "unsportsmanlike conduct" -- which would have also warranted a booking. It must also be noted that none of the Jordan team appeared to be particularly offended by Hussein's replication of their celebration.
Thus, it is understandable why Hussein and the rest of the Iraq team looked incredulous when referee Alireza Faghani proceeded to flash a yellow at him which, given he had already been booked, meant he was sent off.
Aymen Hussein has been shown a second yellow for over celebrating!