‘Arrogant’ World Cup referee slammed as Kylian Mbappe denied clear penalty

France were controversially denied a penalty in their World Cup win over Senegal, despite Kylian Mbappe appearing to be clearly fouled.

With the score at 0-0 in the 58th minute of the Group I opener, Mbappe went to ground inside the Senegal penalty area after a challenge from Sadio Mane.

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The France talisman turned on the pace to drive into the box from the right wing.

Former Liverpool star Mane made a desperate lunge to try and stop him, only to bring him down.

While Mbappe looked to have been caught by Mane’s trailing leg, referee Alireza Faghani initially waved away his protests.

The official awarded a corner, but was then instructed to review the decision at the VAR monitor.

Replays showed Mbappe knocking the ball past Mane, before the winger and caught the Real Madrid forward’s back leg.

But bizarrely, the referee decided to stick with his original decision, claiming Mbappe had looked for the contact.

Outrage

The decision left France incensed, with their star man appearing incredulous.

And it also had talkSPORT pundit Mark McGhee scratching his head, who slammed Faghani for ignoring the VAR recommendation.

Former Scotland assistant manager McGhee said on air: “I don’t think you can admire the referee for sticking to his guns, it’s a show of arrogance…

“I didn’t like that penalty not being given.”

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Historic night

Fortunately for France, the penalty call did not prove costly, with Mbappe getting on the scoresheet just minutes later.

The Real Madrid forward put Les Bleus 1-0 up on 66 minutes, as he slotted home after being played in by Michael Olise.

Not only did this come at a crucial stage, it also saw Mbappe equal Olivier Giroud as France’s all-time record goalscorer.

This was the 27-year-old’s 57th international goal, and it was quickly followed by a second goal.

Bradley Barcola put Les Bleus 2-0 up with a cute chip as he rounded off a counter-attack, before Ibrahim Mbaye pulled a goal back for Senegal in second-half stoppage time.

But there was still time for Mbappe to have the final say on the clash, as he then fired home a stunning effort from distance to seal the three points.

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As well as wrapping up a 3-1 victory, this also saw Mbappe overtake Giroud to become France’s all-time record goalscorer outright with 58 goals.