Morocco were eliminated from the World Cup after suffering a defeat to France in the quarter-finals, a result clouded by controversy over an alleged handball in the build-up to Kylian Mbappé’s decisive goal.
Following the match, Morocco’s head coach Mohamed Ouahbi spoke candidly to the media, expressing his frustration with the incident. He stated, “Some of our players stopped because there was a handball. And there definitely was a handball! I’m not sure whether it should have been called or not; I truly have no idea… but in the end, it was an individual moment of brilliance from Kylian Mbappé that produced the goal.”
Refereeing expert Juan Guzmán, however, provided a different perspective. He explained that the handball should not have been penalised for two key reasons: it was accidental, and there was no direct connection to the goal as possession had already changed. Therefore, he concluded that the decision to allow the goal was the correct one under the current rules.
📸 RONALDO SCHEMIDT – AFP or licensors
