Morocco’s qualification against Tanzania is still sparking heated debate after a controversial incident in the final minutes inside the Moroccan penalty area split refereeing experts.
A Tanzanian forward went down under contact from defender Adam Masina, prompting furious appeals, but the Malian referee waved play on.
Former international referee Jamal Al Sharif backed the on-field decision, insisting there was nothing to justify a spot-kick. In his view, the contact between Masina and the attacker was “natural”, with no clear shirt pulling or significant push that would warrant intervention. He argued that the action did not meet the criteria for a foul, so the referee was right to let the game continue and the VAR was also correct not to stop play.
Egyptian expert Gamal Al Ghandour took the opposite stance and described the situation as a serious injustice to Tanzania. He believes the footage clearly shows both a pull and a push on the attacker while he was controlling the ball, making the penalty “deserved” and the foul “indisputable”.
Al Ghandour blamed the VAR room for what he called a “major error”, saying the officials should have compelled the referee to review the images on the pitch-side monitor.
