A-League referee's 'nonsense' decision denies Mbappe penalty

2 0 2 →1 1 →1 4 →1 1 →1 1 →1 0 →1 2 →0 7 →1 2 →2 1 →0 5 →1 0 →0 1 →1 1 →1 2 →2 3 →1 Live 1 →2 - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- - →- Kylian Mbappé denied penalty after 'nonsense' decision from A-League referee Alireza Faghani Wed 17 Jun 2026 at 8:30am In short: Kylian Mbappé scored twice as France beat Senegal 3-1 in New York to get their World Cup campaign off to a flying start. A-League referee Alireza Faghani made a decision branded "ludicrous" by pundits to deny the French star a penalty early in the game. What's next? ABC Sport is live blogging every game of the FIFA World Cup 2026. Kylian Mbappé has scored two goals, the second an absolute screamer from 20 metres out, as France has overcome a sluggish start to beat Senegal 3-1 in New York. Mbappé, 27, now has 14 goals at the World Cup stage, one more than Lionel Messi and two more than Pelé. He is two goals behind all-time record holder Miroslav Klose. It was his first appearance at a World Cup since scoring a hat-trick in the final in 2022, when France was beaten by Argentina. But early in the second half, Australian referee Alireza Faghani was at the centre of a bizarre decision that must have had France desperately nervous of a shock from their 1-0 reverse at the 2002 tournament. - Live updates: Check out all the action from today's matches in our blog - Check out the full World Cup schedule here in Australian times - ABC Sport podcast: Check out the latest episode here With the score at 0-0 and France labouring under the expectation of favouritism, France superstar Mbappé raced into the penalty area and appeared to be bought down by Sadio Mané. The contact looked pretty penalty-worthy in real time, with the replay simply confirming that, showing Mané sliding in and clipping Mbappe's right leg, forcing him to fall. A-League referee Faghani, refereeing in his fourth-straight World Cup, initially gave a corner but was soon told to go and check the VAR monitor for a possible penalty. "For me this is a penalty," said Darren Cann, a former Premier League assistant referee who also ran the line in the 2010 World Cup final, on the BBC coverage. "There is no contact with the ball and the defender brings Mbappé down. VAR should recommend a review." At that point, it seemed absolutely certain that a penalty would be given. But Faghani decided to spring a surprise instead. "The attacker initiates the contact," he said, while pointing towards the penalty area, adding: "No penalty. Goal kick." Meanwhile, the French fans, who had started celebrating as soon as the referee jogged over to the VAR monitor, were still celebrating, totally oblivious to the possibility that anything other than a penalty would be awarded. Even the French broadcast of the match on RMC Sport saw lead commentator Jean-Louis Tourre utterly baffled, telling listeners a penalty had been awarded before being corrected 15 seconds later, the Frenchman left simply repeating "why?" on the broadcast. French coach Didier Dechamps knew though, and he was absolutely livid. Former internationals in the BBC commentary box were just as stunned. "I don't get it," former England star Alan Shearer said. "You can see the lunge from Mané and his left leg catches Mbappé. How can Mbappé initiate contact if he is in front of him? It's bizarre, it really is." Pat Nevin, formerly of Chelsea, Everton and Scotland, was far less charitable. "That is just rubbish. Utter nonsense," he said on BBC radio. "No chance at all. How can he [Kylian Mbappé] have initiated the contact? The most nonsensical line I have ever heard." Nevin doubled down after the match, blasting Faghani for his comment, describing it as "completely, utterly ridiculous". "The guy [Sadio Mané] tried to lunge at him and tried to wipe him out. Mbappé tried to go over him," Nevin said. The conjecture mostly surrounded Faghani's suggestion that Mbappé initiated contact. Under the laws of the game, that means he decided Mbappé adjusted his leg position to ensure that Mané made contact with him when he otherwise would not, which the replay shows that as being patently false. Instead, Mbappé did not actively attempt to leap out of the way of the challenge and was therefore accepting contact. The one-word difference is important, as Mbappé, as the attacking player, is not obliged to get out of a sliding defender's path. Faghani was born in Iran, with English not his first language, but has been refereeing in the A-League since 2019 with no issues, meaning the language barrier is not an excuse. Surprisingly, Australia youth coach Kevin-Prince Boateng had a different opinion over the disputed spot kick. "The referee did a great job today," former Ghana international Boateng said on SBS. "I think he was very good, especially here. I wouldn't have given this as a penalty. "I think it's not enough to give a penalty in this situation, in a tight game, important situation. If you give a penalty there it's harsh for me. I back the referee." However, Sydney FC's Democratic Republic of Congo international defender Marcel Tisserand had a different opinion. "[If you] Just touch him a little bit, [with] the speed of the game, that's enough [for a penalty]," he said. "Mané should never have tackled there, for me." Boateng then delivered a huge caveat his comments, saying that he would have gone "crazy" if a penalty had not been given if he had been taken down in that situation. "If I would have been a player and he wouldn't have given a penalty, I would have gone crazy," he said. "But now, as I'm not playing, I can look from outside and say it's not a penalty." [Image text:] MBAPPE FIFA REFEREE