Fifa have denied claims that video replays were used by the officials before deciding to send France captain Zinedine Zidane off in the World Cup final defeat to Italy on Sunday.

Zidane was dismissed in extra time for a head-butt on Italy defender Marco Materazzi, but there was controversy surrounding the awarding of the decision as initially the incident appeared to have been overlooked by the referee Horacio Elizondo. It was only after the intervention of the Spanish fourth official Luis Medina Cantalejo that Zidane was shown the red card.

France coach Raymond Domenech alleged afterwards that a replay was used to aid the decision, but Fifa have now dismissed those accusations.

“The fourth referee saw the incident with his own eyes and told the referee and the assistant referee directly though their headsets,” Fifa spokesman Andreas Herren explained.

While Fifa admit that the fifth official does have a TV monitor, he is not permitted to intervene, and the fourth official has no access to replays.