Anthony Taylor's first controversy in this campaign appeared in the 30th minute. Rodley crosses from the left and the ball hits Comte's arm. The referee didn't give a penalty. The video assistant referee intervened in the penalty, but did not award a penalty in the end. Judging from the slow motion, Comte is obviously suspected of swinging his arm backwards to block the ball.
Former La Liga referee Iturralde analyzed, "His hand naturally made this move, and he did not expand the defensive area." So the referee was right not to award a penalty.
However, compared with this foul, Anthony Taylor's second penalty was not only more controversial, but also decided the outcome of the game and the ownership of the champion, which caused the collective dissatisfaction of the Spanish media.
The controversy appeared in the 80th minute, when Special Olympics went straight to the middle, and Mbappé scored the ball into the restricted area and then shot it obliquely. In slow motion, Mbappé was obviously offside.
Surprisingly, the video assistant referee confirmed that the goal was valid, but did not underline whether Mbappé was offside. Marca revealed the conversation between the referee and the video assistant referee. The assistant referee said, "Keep moving, keep moving." In other words, there is no problem with Mbappé's goal.
Then, the problem comes. Why is Mbappé not offside?
Busquets revealed the referee's explanation. "The referee told us that Garcia took the initiative to touch the ball, so it was not offside. But he took the initiative to touch the ball, because the ball will be passed to offside Mbappé, which is completely unreasonable. "
Hoyal Zabal also said angrily, "Anyone who has played football knows that Mbappé is offside, and those who say he is not offside must not have played football."
Did Eric Garcia touch the ball?
The Spanish defender explained, "Teo tried to pass the ball behind me, and I did touch the ball, but Mbappé was offside. The referee explained to me that I took the initiative to touch the ball, so even if VAR intervened, the ball could not be judged offside. He thinks that according to the rules, I can't touch the ball, so what should I do? Let him run over there? I hope they will revise this rule in the future. "
That is to say, at the moment when Special Olympics passed the ball, Mbappé was offside, but according to the understanding of the referee and video assistant referee, only Eric didn't touch the ball, Mbappé would be punished for offside.
The penalty given by the referee really conforms to the existing rules. The rules stipulate that "a player who is offside at the moment of serving will not be regarded as benefiting if he receives the ball deliberately handled by the opposing player (except that the opposing player intentionally saves the ball). Saving the ball means that the player blocks or attempts to block the ball that is about to enter the goal or is very close to the goal with any part of his body except his arms and hands (except the goalkeeper in his own restricted area, who can save with his arms and hands). "
Former La Liga referee Iturralde pointed out, "Garcia tried to tackle the ball on the ground. If he touches the ball, then Mbappé's goal is valid. Mbappé didn't interfere with Garcia's clearance, he just ran away. According to the rules, the goal will be cancelled only if Mbappé interferes with Garcia's clearance. "
Tourde even reminded Spanish players to learn the rules. "The assistant referee didn't even raise the flag, and the referee didn't need to watch the replay. Players need to know the rules, they have a lot of free time, just look at the rules 17. "
However, his explanation seems unacceptable. Marca pointed out, "No shot can prove that Mbappé is not offside. From any angle, it is a scandal. The birth of VAR is to ensure that there will be no misjudgment, but that's what happened today. Fortunately, this misjudgment occurred in the EU, not the World Cup or the European Cup. "