WATCH: David Villa offence upgraded to red card after video replay technology catches cheap shot

David Villa would have gotten away with this cheap shot, if it wasn't for that pesky Video Assistant Referee.

The newly-introduced system ended the Spanish striker's game early as his New York City FC slumped to a 3-1 Desert Diamond Cup defeat to Houston Dynamo on Saturday night. VAR has been introduced in the MLS preseason as a means of advising referees on game-changing incidents including goals, penalty penalty claims and off-ball scuffles. With the game level at 1-1 following Villa's equaliser, the former Barcelona and Valencia man was reprimanded for an off-the-ball incident with AJ DeLaGarza. Villa was initially shown a yellow card for his involvement in the tussle, but the referee suddenly remembered that VAR was available. He sprinted over to a monitor at the side of the pitch to review the footage and upgraded the offence to a sending off Villa was spotted clearly slapping the opposition player in the face. Check out the incident in the video embedded below. https://twitter.com/_marcuzzi/status/833135733506457601