The 2026 FIFA World Cup clash between France and Senegal saw a rare moment as the on-field referee Alireza Faghani from Australia rejected the advice of the Video Assistance Referee (VAR) and refused to overturn his decision despite being asked to review the incident on the pitchside monitor.
The incident happened just as the clock hit the hour mark in the fixture on Tuesday (June 16) at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey as the star players of both teams, Sadio Mane and Kylian Mbappe, clashed.
Mane surprisingly found himself defending in the box as Mbappe tried to find an opening. The duo found themselves one-against-one. The Frenchmen tried to dribble past Mane, who put up a late tackle. Mbappe went down and appealed for a penalty, but the claim was rejected.
After a long check by VAR, Faghani was asked to view the replays on screen. Usually once the VAR directs the referee to this action, the decision is overturned. However, the Australian referee surprised the world by sticking to his original decision. He justified his call by claiming that the ‘attacker (Mbappe) initiated the contact.’
The incident divided opinions on social media as fans were impressed by the on-field referee for making the decision on his own wisdom and not what he was told by the VAR official. However, several people felt that Mane’s actions were the reason behind Mbappe’s fall as he caught his trailing leg.
Talking about the match, France won the fixture by a 3-1 margin, with Mbappe scoring a brace while Bradley Barcola also found the back of the net. Teenager Ibrahim Mbaye scored for Senegal in added time.
Mbappe scored his 14th goal in World Cup history and 58th for the Les Blues. As a result, he now has the most goals for France in the tournament’s history as well as in international football.