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France was far from its best for much of Tuesday's 3–1 victory against Senegal, and when Kylian Mbappé had a penalty appeal dismissed in the 58th minute, it seemed like it would be one of those frustrating nights for Les Bleus.
Mbappé hit the ground inside the box after a challenge from the retreating Sadio Mané, but referee Alireza Faghani remained unconvinced. As is customary, a VAR review followed, and Faghani was soon called over to examine the incident on the pitchside monitor—a strong indication that the VAR official believed an error may have occurred.
Faghani approached the monitor and studied multiple angles clearly showing Mané's outstretched leg making contact with Mbappé, leaving fans both at home and inside MetLife Stadium astonished when he chose to uphold his original call.
"My phone has been flooded with messages from several of the world's top referees who also can't understand why a penalty wasn't given," admitted Darren Cann, a former assistant referee with experience in both World Cup and Champions League finals, speaking on BBC One's match coverage.
Why Was Mbappé Not Awarded a Penalty?
As Faghani walked back onto the pitch to deliver his final ruling, most anticipated a penalty would be given. Replays clearly demonstrated that Mané had missed the ball entirely and made contact with Mbappé instead.
Faghani even appeared to gesture toward the spot, seemingly only pointing to the location of the incident in retrospect, as he publicly claimed that Mbappé had initiated the contact himself. The referee stood firm on his original decision, also opting not to book the Frenchman for any alleged diving.
Mbappé was visibly baffled by the ruling. He had been accused of deliberately angling his leg into Mané's sliding challenge, effectively penalized for failing to avoid the Al Nassr winger's reckless lunge.
"The situation in the box ... we had a VAR call and I won't tell you what I said to the fourth official," reflected France manager Didier Deschamps.
"For the referee to come back and say Kylian put his leg forward, I'm not sure I saw that. A penalty should have been given, but that's my interpretation."
Fortunately for Mbappé, Deschamps and France, the call proved inconsequential as Les Bleus went on to win 3–1, with Mbappé even scoring twice to become France's all-time leading goalscorer.
All Eyes on FIFA's Response to Incident
Unlike a contentious offside call during Switzerland's 1–1 draw with Qatar, FIFA has issued no public statement to clarify Faghani's decision.
SI answers is our AI answer engine trained on human-created content.
In reality, soccer's governing body is under no obligation to release audio from Faghani's exchange with the VAR, though an internal review of the referee's performance—who previously oversaw Chelsea's Club World Cup final win over Paris Saint-Germain a year ago—will be conducted.
Serious errors frequently result in demotions from FIFA. There had been speculation that Faghani, working his fourth World Cup, could have been in line to officiate this summer's final at MetLife Stadium, but such a prestigious appointment seems unlikely if FIFA concludes that he made a significant high-profile mistake.