The disallowed goal in the France vs. Tunisia match of the FIFA World Cup has caused a lot of debate and controversy. The context of this match was very important, as both teams were fighting to qualify for the next round.
And while it is understandable that video reviews are used to ensure fair play, there were several controversies during this particular game that disappointed many fans.
The use of video technology to disallow a goal by Antoine Griezmann in France’s World Cup match against Tunisia on Wednesday has been met with criticism from the players and coaching staff of both teams.
The French federation said on Wednesday that they would be launching a protest with FIFA after their World Cup match against Tunisia ended in a 1-1 draw despite a late goal by Antoine Griezmann being disallowed after a video review.
In the eighth minute of stoppage time, Griezmann scored on a volley, but the goal was disallowed because the forward was offside when Aurelien Tchouameni crossed the ball into the box.
VAR’s explanation for why Griezmann’s score was ruled out as offside:
Griezmann’s onside attempt was disallowed, and Tunisia won the game 1-0 as a defender for the winning team redirected the ball into his path.
According to the French federation, a technical error was made by the referee and VAR.
“We are writing a complaint after Antoine Griezmann’s goal was, in our opinion, wrongly disallowed. This complaint has to be filled within 24 hours after the final whistle,” the French Football Federation said in a statement.
This decision has caused controversy, as many people believe it shouldn’t have been ruled out based on how close Griezmann was to the Tunisian goalkeeper at the time of receiving the ball. Some are even calling for FIFA to look into this incident further, as they believe France was wrongly denied an equalizer early in Wednesday’s game.
The French national team claims that official Michael Conger, who was officiating the match, permitted the goal late in extra time and restarted play before sounding the final whistle. Conger then went to the pitch side monitor after being instructed by the VAR to look into Griezmann’s apparent offside position.
The law of the game should not have enabled the referee to inspect the goal and subsequently rule it out because, according to FIFA’s Law 1.10 on VAR, if the game has been restarted, VAR cannot intervene further.
In light of the apparent disallowed goal by Antoine Griezmann in last night’s match between France and Tunisia, the FFF has written to FIFA requesting that the goal be restored. This would change Tunisia and France’s points in the Group D table but would not affect their final standings or ability to proceed any further in this year’s tournament.
Given this particular incident and its potential implications on later stages of play at Qatar 2022 and other currently underway matches, it will be interesting to see how FIFA responds regarding the use (or lack thereof )of technology during such games.
