The excitement in the 1/8 finals of the World Cup between Paraguay and France: were the South Americans lucky in this action? During the release of the French ball, Matias Galarza hit Kylian Mbappe. It fell to the ground.
However, the referee did not call a foul. VAR also did not intervene.
Referee expert Patrick Ittrich said on this matter on Magenta TV that during the live broadcast he already wondered why the Paraguayan star beat Mbappe. “It’s a very clear hit. It’s not typical aggression. But if you analyze it from a normative point of view, it comes far from the ball. He raises his fist and hits it towards the shoulder. For me, according to the regulations, it’s a red card,” explained Ittrich. In addition, he added that an “attempted attack” constitutes an “assault.”
Although at this World Cup the referees allow play to continue, in this game Ittrich would have wanted VAR to intervene.
What do you think: missing or not? Leave us your opinion in the comments.
📸 JEWEL SAMAD – AFP or licensors