Penalty or not? The action that divides experts after Morocco-Tanzania

The tension was at its peak in the final minutes of the round of 16 match. A fall of a Tanzanian attacker in contact with Adam Masina sparked strong protests. The Malian referee did not flinch, a decision that continues to fuel the debates on TV sets.

For former international referee Jamal Al Sharif, there is no room for controversy. According to his analysis, the contact between the Moroccan defender and the attacker was "natural". He did not detect any jersey pulling or significant pushing that would justify a whistle.

Al Sharif believes that the action simply did not meet the conditions of a foul. Consequently, the decision of the central referee was correct and the "Video Assistant Referee" (VAR) was right not to intervene to interrupt the game.

Al-Ghandour cries scandal

A radically different tone from Egyptian expert Gamal Al-Ghandour. In his analysis for the Qatari media WinWin, he is categorical: the referee deprived Tanzania of a "deserved" penalty.

According to him, the images show obvious pulling and pushing on the attacker as he controlled the ball. For Al-Ghandour, the foul is indisputable and the responsibility lies mainly with the VAR room.

He points the finger at a "major error" by the video assistance, which should have imperatively called the central referee to review the images.