Tunisia-France was marked by a sensational error by the referee on the occasion of Griezmann’s goal which was later canceled with an appeal to the Var.
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There is no shortage of controversial referee situations ai Qatar World Cup. The last and very particular one is related to Tunisia-Francelast match of group D. Under the magnifying glass the goal of the tie by Griezmann, arrived in full recovery and then canceled after the final whistle thanks to the intervention of the Var for an offside position of the attacker. France decided to file a complaint for this decision, pointing out the gross mistake made by the referee.
But what happened on the pitch? In the 98th minute, with Tunisia ahead by a goal, France, already qualified for the round of 16, rushed forward in search of an equaliser. A cross from Aurelien Tchouameni was tapped into by Griezmann who scored the 1-1 goal at 98′. Great celebration for Les Bleus and burning disappointment for the Africans, who dreamed of a prestigious victory that would not have served for qualification anyway, in the light of Australia’s success in the other match against Denmark.
The referee’s mistake in the final of Tunisia–France
The teams are back in position in their respective half pitches, ready to resume play with the referee resorting to an on-field review after the final whistle. Reviewing the offending action on the advice of the colleagues at the Var, canceled the marking, due to the irregular position of the author of the goal. Right choice judging by the images, but which has raised many perplexities among the French, not so much for the offside, as for timing.
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Apparently, in fact, after the goal, the New Zealand referee Matthew Conger, first whistled the resumption of play and immediately after three times to formalize the end of the match. So where is the error? In the fact of having after the marking given the green light for the resumption of hostilitiesbefore the triple whistle.
In fact, the regulation is clear and states that a Var check cannot cancel a goal once play has resumed. In fact, we read in the IFAB rule (International Football Association Board, the body that decides on any modification and innovation of the rules of the game of football): “If the game has been restarted, the referee cannot make a review except in a case of mistaken identity or a potential deportation offense relating to violent conduct, spitting, biting or acting in a highly offensive and/or abusive manner”.
Therefore, if the referee had immediately blown the whistle for the end of the match, then there would have been no mistakes but having given the go-ahead to restart after the goal, albeit for a fraction of a second (the 4 whistles, one at the start and three for the end), is in contrast with the law 1.10 of the VAR published by the IFAB. Here then is that France has decided to present a complaint for what happened, in the hope of perhaps seeing the decision annulled and the 1-1 draw re-established (which, among other things, would not actually change anything in terms of standings, with France always first and Tunisia eliminated).
On the other hand, even before the French Football Federation, the technical commissioner of the transalpines Didier Deschamps asked for clarifications on the pitch, who really did not digest the defeat, albeit useless, of his team: “I await a response on the regulations. I don’t know them all by heart. The referee blew the kick-off (after Griezmann’s goal, ed) and then the end of the match and I’m not sure if the match could be ‘restarted’. I went to the referee to discuss. I await an answer and will not say what he said. I don’t want to question him. He has Collina’s number (President of the FIFA Referees Commission)?”
