A fair referee decision? Mané slides in on Mbappé, but the referee shocks everyone and doesn't award a penalty
Steven Perez
Dailysports's expert
The clash between France and Senegal at the World Cup has already sparked a refereeing controversy.
Details: In the 58th minute, French captain Kylian Mbappé burst into the African penalty area at lightning speed, only to be met by a fierce and dangerous sliding tackle from Senegalese star forward Sadio Mane. Mane blatantly took down the Frenchman, coming nowhere near the ball.
The referee’s initial reaction left the French players in disbelief – he ignored the blatant foul and awarded only a corner kick. But VAR intervened instantly, urging the referee to review the incident on the pitchside monitor. The entire stadium held its breath, expecting an obvious verdict, while the French team demanded a penalty. Yet the referee made an unprecedented decision.
After watching the replay, the referee not only stood by his decision not to award a penalty to France, but also overturned the initial corner, instead giving Senegal a goal kick.
It’s worth noting that later, France managed to break the deadlock thanks to Kylian Mbappé.
Reminder: The France vs Senegal match has turned into a real “French derby” because so many players in the fixture were actually born in France.
