France’s superstar Kylian Mbappé, 27, was beaten by Paraguayan Matías Galarza, 24.
The judges didn’t care.
– It is clear that it should be a red card, says the expert Jonas Eriksson in SVT.
The end of the first half of the Round of 16 between France and Paraguay was grumpy. After 34 minutes of play, a fight broke out with several players involved when Kylian Mbappé and Andrés Cubas started pushing each other.
Mbappé was then beaten a few minutes later.
The ball was nowhere near when Paraguayan player Matías Galarza crossed Mbappé’s running path and delivered a rap with his arm over Mbappé’s arm.
In SVT’s broadcast, referee expert Jonas Eriksson was almost shocked that neither the head referee Ilgiz Tantashev nor the VAR room noticed the incident.
– That is a shot where the ball is not nearby. It’s not an accident or anything. It is clear that it should be a red card, says Eriksson and continues:
– The video assistant referees have seen exactly the same thing as us. It is unimaginable if it is not a red card.
Galarza was allowed to play on and the result after the first half was 0–0.
The match is in progress – follow it here!
