Nacional slam video ref after world club exit

Osaka : South American champions Atletico Nacional questioned football's new video referee after the first ever penalty awarded under the system helped dump them out of the Club World Cup -- and even had suspicions of offside.

The Colombians felt aggrieved after Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai used the new technology for the first goal in their shock 3-0 defeat by Japan's Kashima Antlers on Wednesday.

In a ground-breaking moment, Kassai stopped play, ran to the side of the pitch and watched a replay, before blowing for the penalty which was converted by Shoma Doi.

Nacional were fuming as the foul in question, Orlando Berrio's trip on Daigo Nishi as he ran towards an airborne free kick, had gone virtually unnoticed by the players.

The Colombian players continued to remonstrate with the referee as they trudged off, and their frustration will have been compounded as replays suggested Nishi may have been offside in the build-up.

"That decision was crucial because we were in control and it unbalanced us emotionally," complained Nacional defender Farid Diaz. "It totally changed the game."

The video system is being trialled in FIFA competitions for the first time at this year's Club World Cup, although goal-line technology is already widely used.

In a move to modernise the game, assistant referees monitor television screens and relay information on so-called "match-changing decisions" to the match officials during the game.

Nacional's players reacted furiously after Kassai used the video replay in Osaka following protests from the Kashima bench, rather than players on the field.