Mbappe Penalty Denial Leaves World’s Top Referees Completely Baffled

France forward Kylian Mbappe was brought down inside the penalty area during a 58th-minute challenge by Senegal’s Sadio Mane at the New York New Jersey Stadium.

Referee Alireza Faghani was directed to the pitchside monitor to review the challenge, with the game still goalless at that point.

When Faghani returned to the pitch, he appeared to gesture toward the penalty spot, sending the thousands of France supporters inside the ground into a moment of ecstatic celebration.

The joy proved short-lived, however, as the referee had in fact signalled for a goal-kick, ruling that Mbappe had initiated the contact himself.

The decision immediately sparked fury among pundits and, remarkably, among elite referees watching the match across the globe.

Darren Cann, who served as assistant referee in the 2010 World Cup final, revealed on BBC One that “my phone has blown up with messages from several of the world’s best referees who also can’t understand why a penalty wasn’t given.”

Former Scotland winger Pat Nevin, covering the match for BBC Radio 5 Live, was equally damning, calling it a “rubbish decision” and adding “utter nonsense.”

Nevin went further, saying: “No chance at all. How can he [Mbappe] have initiated the contact? The most nonsensical line I have ever heard.”

Former England captain Alan Shearer, present at the stadium for BBC One, described the call as “bizarre”, stating: “You can see the lunge from Mane and his left leg catches Mbappe. How can Mbappe initiate contact if he is in front of him? It’s bizarre, it really is.”

Cann reinforced those views, adding: “I can’t support the referee’s decision to be honest. For me it is a clear penalty. For me it is very, very clear and I am extremely surprised he did not point to the spot after a correct VAR review.”

France manager Didier Deschamps also made clear his frustration after the final whistle, saying the incident should have resulted in a spot kick for his side.

Deschamps said: “The situation in the box – we had a VAR call and I won’t tell you what I told the fourth official. For the referee to come back and say Kylian put his leg forward, I am not sure I saw this.”

He added: “A penalty should have been awarded but this is my interpretation. The referee is always correct.”

The controversial call ultimately failed to derail France, who ran out commanding 3-1 winners with Mbappe helping himself to two goals on the night.

In doing so, the Real Madrid forward surpassed Olivier Giroud to become France’s all-time leading scorer, reaching 58 goals in 99 appearances for his country.

Mbappe also claimed another historic milestone, becoming France’s all-time top scorer at World Cups with 14 goals across just 15 tournament matches.

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