Controversial calls
Real incidents broken down using the exact FIFA laws referees apply.
Goalkeeper's flying challenge correctly downgraded to a yellow
Switzerland were awarded a penalty after the Canadian goalkeeper, attempting a flying challenge for the ball, accidentally struck the attacker with his head instead. Two earlier passes in the buildup were checked for offside and confirmed clean. A clear case of denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity, correctly downgraded to a yellow card since the keeper made a genuine attempt to play the ball.
Konsa's missed tackle should have been a penalty and a yellow card, not just a penalty
Ghana's Adu was through on goal in the 79th minute when he went down under a challenge from England's Ezri Konsa inside the box. No penalty was given, and VAR did not intervene since the contact wasn't judged to be a clear and obvious error. A former elite referee's post-match analysis said he believed it was a foul.
Uzbekistan's goal disallowed after a missed foul in the buildup
Uzbekistan intercepted the ball and scored, with the referee allowing a long celebration before VAR called him over. Replay showed a clear tackle on the opponent in the buildup that should have been called live. The goal was correctly disallowed on review.
Mac Allister's challenge before Messi's goal went unreviewed
Shortly before Messi's opening goal, Alexis Mac Allister made a challenge on an Austrian opponent. Argentina won the ball back and scored shortly after. No VAR review was triggered. While VAR would have been justified reviewing it, the contact wasn't a clear enough mistake to demand intervention.
Martinez brought down by two defenders at once, penalty given despite debate over who touched the ball first
Lautaro Martinez was through in the box when Austria's Xaver Schlager and Stefan Posch both slid in at the same time. A fan poll of over 200,000 votes had 65 percent saying penalty, with many arguing it should not count because one defender appeared to touch the ball first. VAR confirmed the penalty regardless.
Ngoy sent off after backpass error gifts Taremi a clear run at goal
Nathan Ngoy mis-kicked a simple backpass, allowing Mehdi Taremi to intercept and sprint clear with a path to goal. Ngoy dragged him down by the shoulder just outside the box. Despite the contact looking fairly mild, this is a clean DOGSO red card.
Taremi's goal was never going to count, and it wasn't really about the offside
Mehdi Taremi appeared to score from a smartly worked free-kick routine in the 25th minute. The goal was ruled out after a lengthy VAR review found Taremi was marginally offside, his back turned to goal with his backside fractionally over the line.
Almiron sent off for covering his mouth, the first red card under FIFA's new rule
Miguel Almiron and Türkiye's Mert Müldür exchanged words following a foul near midfield. Almiron covered his mouth while speaking to Müldür, who appealed to referee Ivan Barton. A VAR review confirmed a red card under a new IFAB rule introduced for 2026, regardless of what was actually said. Paraguay held on to win 1-0 with ten men, eliminating Türkiye.
Freeman's goal flagged offside, then awarded after VAR review
Alex Freeman headed in USA's second goal after Sergino Dest's blocked shot looped up. The assistant referee flagged offside immediately. A VAR review using semi-automated offside technology found Freeman was onside, and the goal stood. Australia's bench argued teammate Folarin Balogun had impeded the goalkeeper, but replays did not support that claim.
Bosnia's defender correctly sent off for a DOGSO foul outside the box
A Bosnian defender challenged a Swiss attacker outside the penalty area, missed the ball entirely, and made clear contact with the attacker's foot. With no covering defenders and a clear sight of goal, this was a textbook denial of an obvious goalscoring opportunity, correctly punished with a straight red since it happened outside the box.
Penalty downgraded to a red card after VAR finds the foul was outside the box
Referee Cristian Garay initially awarded Canada a penalty and a yellow card to Qatar's Homam Al Amin for a last-man trip on Tajon Buchanan. VAR review found the foul happened just outside the penalty area, changing the outcome to a free kick and upgrading the card to a straight red for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity.
Sulc's handball penalty, harsh contact or correct call
Thapelo Maseko's long-range shot in the 83rd minute struck the arm of Czechia's Pavel Sulc inside the box. Referee Tori Penso pointed to the spot, and Teboho Mokoena converted to earn South Africa a 1-1 draw. Reporting is split on whether Sulc's arm was tucked close to his body or extended away from it, which is the exact detail the handball law turns on.
Kane's saved penalty retaken for double encroachment
Harry Kane's penalty was saved by Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic, but referee Clement Turpin ordered a retake after replays showed Livakovic stepping off his line early, and that Croatia defender Josko Gvardiol had also encroached into the penalty area. Kane scored on the second attempt.
Mbappé goes down after Mané's sliding tackle
Mbappe was dribbling at speed when Mane slid in to challenge. Mane missed the ball entirely and caught Mbappe's foot. Referee Alireza Faghani waved away the appeal, initially calling a corner, then a goal kick after a VAR review, ruling that Mbappe had initiated the contact. Replays clearly show the opposite: Mane attempted to play the ball, missed, and fouled Mbappe.
Modric's missed clearance correctly given as a penalty
Luka Modric attempted to clear the ball inside his own penalty area, missed it, and fouled Noni Madueke. The referee correctly awarded a penalty, a careless challenge with no card needed.
Messi escapes any card after raking studs down Mandi's calf
Messi went after the ball from behind, grabbed Mandi with both hands and raked his studs down the back of Mandi's calf. Mandi went down in pain. The referee did not show any card, and VAR did not even recommend a review. Algeria has since filed a formal complaint with FIFA.
Messi goes down in the box, correctly no penalty
In the 73rd minute, Messi tried to get past a defender and went down. The contact was a fair, normal shoulder-to-hip challenge, with no trip involved. No penalty was given, and no VAR review was triggered. Correct call.
Saliba's stamp on a grounded opponent should have been a yellow card
Senegal's number 18 went down with the ball, and France's William Saliba stamped on his foot as the player was on the ground. The referee waved it off as no offence, only stopping play afterward once he noticed the player was injured. This was a clear reckless stamp that should have drawn a yellow card.
Doku goes down with no contact, referee lets it go
Jeremy Doku tried to dribble past two Egyptian defenders in the penalty area. Both defenders had a foot in front of him, but there was no contact at all. Doku went to ground anyway. The referee waved play on rather than carding it as simulation.
Zizo held off the ball, but it happened outside the box
Egypt's Zizo tried to get past a Belgian defender, went down, and Egypt's players appealed for a free kick that wasn't given. The defender held Zizo rather than fouling him with contact, and the holding started and ended outside the penalty area, which rules out both a penalty and a DOGSO red card. The correct call was a free kick and a yellow card for stopping a promising attack.
VAR technical outage casts doubt on Switzerland's penalty
Switzerland were awarded a penalty after goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada brought down Remo Freuler. The decision itself wasn't the controversy, a technical outage prevented the offside graphic from displaying, leaving fans unable to verify whether the buildup play was even legal.
Defender takes a risk with his arm on a shot he saw coming
A defender had a clear view of an incoming shot and extended his arm away from his body before the ball struck it. Almost no one reacted on the pitch, and no penalty was given. Since the shot was anticipated and the arm wasn’t in a natural position, this should have been a penalty for handball.
Late, reckless challenge near the touchline should have been a red card
In the closing minutes, with the ball near the touchline in front of the opposing bench, a Scottish player went in with a straight leg and caught the opponent on the knee, missing the ball entirely. The contact led to an injury. No card was given.
Fabinho's follow-through with exposed studs should have been a yellow card
Fabinho contested the ball with a Moroccan opponent, both players got a touch on it, but Fabinho followed through with a straight leg and exposed studs onto the opponent's foot. A free kick was given, but no card.
Bruno Guimaraes stamps on Hakimi's foot, no card shown
Bruno Guimaraes caught Achraf Hakimi with a stamp on the foot during a challenge, a similar pattern to an earlier missed call on Vinicius Junior in the same match. No card was shown. The contact wasn't dangerous enough for a red card, but it was a clear reckless challenge that should have drawn a yellow.
Possible handball waved away, VAR correctly stayed out of it
A shot toward goal appeared to brush a defender's arm, which was extended away from his body. Replays suggested slight contact, but neither the players nor the referee reacted, and VAR did not intervene. From VAR's perspective, the contact wasn't certain enough to count as a clear and obvious error.
Vinicius Junior should have had a reckless-challenge yellow card
Just before halftime, Vinicius Junior was tackled and the contact was mostly on his foot. The referee missed the incident entirely, no free kick and no card. While the contact wasn't forceful enough to be serious foul play, it was a clear reckless challenge that should have drawn a yellow card.
A missed corner kick that VAR couldn't fix, by design
The goalkeeper saved a shot with his hand and the ball appeared to go out for a corner, but a corner kick was not given. VAR could not intervene, not because the mistake wasn't clear, but because the rule only allows VAR to fix a wrongly-given corner into a goal kick, never the other direction.
VAR correctly fixed a mistaken identity card, but got the restart wrong
Referee Danny Makkelie initially booked USA's Tim Ream for a foul on Paraguay's Miguel Almiron, then reviewed it and switched the card to Almiron for simulation. Using the mistaken identity rule this way was correct, that is exactly what it exists for. The actual error was the restart: once the original free kick had already been taken and the ball was back in play, the referee should not have been able to change it to a fresh indirect free kick. The correct restart was a dropped ball.
Montes sent off for late challenge denying a clear chance
A South African attacker broke clear with only the goalkeeper ahead of him. Mexico's César Montes, the last covering defender, arrived late and brought him down. Despite the contact looking relatively soft on replay, this met the DOGSO threshold for a straight red card.
Sithole sent off for dragging down Gutiérrez: DOGSO outside the box
Brian Gutiérrez was clean through on goal, clear of defenders with only the goalkeeper ahead. Sithole grabbed him from behind just outside the penalty area, bringing him down. Straight red for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity, confirmed by VAR as a clear and correct decision.
Zwane sent off for striking Alvarado in the face
Themba Zwane made contact with Roberto Alvarado's face during play, away from a genuine challenge for the ball. VAR reviewed and confirmed red card for violent conduct. FIFA later extended his suspension under Article 14, the specific rule for violent contact.
Lampard's ghost goal: ball clearly over the line
Frank Lampard's shot hit the crossbar and bounced clearly over the goal line by nearly a metre. The referee and linesman did not award the goal. England lost 4-1. This incident directly led to goal-line technology being introduced.
Carlos Tevez offside goal: wrongly allowed
Carlos Tevez scored while clearly offside by nearly a metre. The linesman did not flag. Argentina went on to win 3-1. The image of Tevez celebrating while clearly ahead of the last defender became one of the defining images of officiating failure.
Thierry Henry's handball: France vs Ireland
Thierry Henry controlled the ball with his hand twice before setting up William Gallas to score the goal that sent France to the World Cup instead of Ireland. Henry admitted the handball after the match.
Maradona's Hand of God goal
Maradona punched the ball into the net with his left hand. The referee did not see it and allowed the goal. There was no VAR in 1986. It is the most famous wrong decision in football history.