Walid Soliman scored two VAR penalties to give Egypt’s Al Ahly a 3-1 first-leg win over Esperance in the African Champions League final in Alexandria.
A report from BBC SPORTS said it was the first time VAR was used in a Champions League final and referee Mehdi Charef watched replays before awarding the spot kicks.
Amr Elsolia scored the other goal for the hosts while Youcef Belaili converted a penalty for Esperance.
The Egyptian club are aiming to win their ninth continental title.
Tunisian side Esperance have won the title twice but they lost 1-0 at home to Ahly in the group stages of the competition.
The second leg takes place at Stade Olympique in Rades on 9 November.
The overall winners will also earn a place at December’s Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
At stake is not just the trophy but the prize of N900 million ($2.5 million or 2.2 million euros), apart from the winner qualifying automatically for the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
Both sides met in the final of 2012 edition, with Ahly winning 3-2 on aggregate to claim their seventh title. The two teams are familiar foes on the continent, having met 16 times at various stages of the Champions League, starting with two goalless 1990 qualifiers.
Ahly and Esperance count 10 Champions League titles, with Ahly the record champions having eight titles, with two for the Tunisians. The 2018 final will be Ahly’s 12th appearance in the final,an African record, losing on three occasions.
On the other hand, Esperance has reached the ultimate stage six times before, winning twice and losing four times.
