Kylian Mbappé’s opening goal in France’s 2-0 World Cup quarter-final victory over Morocco has become one of the major talking points after the match, with questions raised over a possible handball during the build-up.
The incident occurred in the 60th minute when France launched the attack that eventually ended with Mbappé putting Les Bleus ahead.
Morocco players protested after believing there had been a handball involving French midfielder Adrien Rabiot before the goal, with some members of the Atlas Lions squad appearing to stop playing during the sequence.
Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi acknowledged the controversy after the match but said he was not in a position to make the final decision.
“The players stopped because they noticed a handball, but I am not a referee to decide,” Ouahbi said.
The Morocco coach also addressed the incident in an interview with beIN Sports, suggesting there had been contact with the hand but admitting uncertainty over whether it should have resulted in a decision against France.
However, VAR and Argentine referee Facundo Tello allowed the goal to stand, with two possible explanations emerging for why the decision was not overturned.
The first possibility is that the contact between the ball and Rabiot’s hand was considered accidental and therefore not punishable under the Laws of the Game.
The second explanation, considered more likely, is that the incident was judged to have happened too far away from the immediate action that led to the goal.
According to football’s IFAB regulations, VAR reviews possible attacking infringements in the move leading directly to a goal, including how possession was gained before the scoring opportunity developed.
The sequence involving Rabiot happened around 30 metres from Morocco’s goal and several actions followed before Mbappé eventually found the net.
The move began when Achraf Hakimi attempted to play the ball forward towards Brahim Diaz, who was under pressure from Rabiot.
During the challenge, the ball first appeared to come off Diaz before making contact with Rabiot’s right hand as the French midfielder attempted to maintain possession.
But France continued the attack.
Around 13 seconds later, the ball reached Mbappé, who finished the move to give France the lead.
Before the goal was scored, Morocco had opportunities to defend the situation. The French attack developed through the left side, with Lucas Digne delivering a cross that was not properly cleared by Noussair Mazraoui.
Another aerial challenge was then won by Rabiot before Désiré Doué provided the decisive pass that allowed Mbappé to score.
The extended nature of the move was a key factor in the decision to allow the goal to stand.
VAR did review the incident but determined there was no reason to overturn the referee’s decision on the field.
For Morocco, the moment added frustration to a difficult night as their World Cup campaign ended with defeat against the defending runners-up.
The Atlas Lions had hoped to repeat their historic run from 2022, when they became the first African and Arab nation to reach the World Cup semi-finals.
Instead, France advanced to the last four, while the debate over Mbappé’s goal continued beyond the final whistle.
The controversy is likely to remain part of the discussion surrounding the quarter-final, but according to VAR’s interpretation of the rules, the handball incident did not meet the conditions required for the goal to be cancelled.
