In my opinion the biggest problem with this performance (besides the cast-iron handball penalty not given! ) was disciplinary control, particularly in terms of balancing the sanctions given.
I love how the second comment is about getting him on a plane to referee EPL matches... as if he wouldn't have been excorciated for this there. Also, this is a reminder that "a clear opportunity to score a goal" only appears here in the LOTG text, right? Is it somewhere between OGSO and SPA? Is it SPA but the writers were sloppy? No one knows!
I think you're reaching. First, that wouldn't excuse the AR missing the handball; we far too often forget, I feel like, that the officials are still there on the field and expected to make calls. If this was outside the area, then that makes the miss almost even worse, because it can't be corrected. But, 0:52 shows that both his feet are on the line and his arm is behind him. There's no physical way possible that this was outside the area. That angle is at distance, but it's proof enough. The only part of his body that might be outside the area is his right hand and this hit his left hand, which is the one part of the his body that is likely furthest into the area.
The time spent checking the situation by the VAR, Pierre Atcho from Gabon, would strongly suggest that this was not the case at all (especially in this tournament where checks take forever). Algeria's behaviour after the final whistle was quite disgraceful, by the way: https://www.instagram.com/p/DTV75hxDFG6 https://www.instagram.com/p/DTV1V1MiFZp
So apparently the ball struck the thigh and played it up into the arm. Another video shows it clearly. Huh. Per IFAB instruction, I guess the outcome is correct. But man, when you have your arm out like that and a cross hits it… have I said how I hate that this instruction is interpreted as though it supersedes the actual Law text?
Disgraceful stuff indeed. Algeria always seem to be sore losers, I recall bad scenes when they lost their 2022 WCQ playoff as well. They’re right up there with the world class sore losers like Portugal and Uruguay. I also find it interesting that Sy was evidently reaching for a red card at the start of this scene and then decided not to pull it out. I think it is sensible in these situations, where referee safety is a concern, that a red card should not need to be physically shown in order to be issued by the referee; it should be official in the post-game report anyways.
I will say that I felt like he could have defused things a bit at the end. There were 6 minutes of stoppage and I don't remember any significant delays, but at almost 97 there was a scuffle on the sideline that he came over and showed a yellow for, and then still played another minute and a half. This was a 2-0 game where Algeria had nothing and by stoppage time were barely trying. There was no good reason I could see not to call the game at 96 or at least once that scuffle was dealt with. Instead there was another minute and a half of frustration played out.
I didn’t watch enough to keep track of how much time was lost in added time, but “2 goal lead and the losing team were barely trying” isn’t a good reason to truncate the time, especially in the quarterfinal of a professional competition. Crazier comebacks have happened.
But its a good reason to say "I can call this now rather than wait the wait for the goalkeeper for the leading team to waste time and then take the goal kick where I'll blow for full time while its in the air", which is something that happened. Of "a scuffle broke out at 97 of 6 minutes of extra time with no real stoppages during it, why would I add on the time wasted in the scuffle and giving the card?".
Oh, I'm absolutely reaching, hence why I took the time to format the word "maybe" in italics. I had not seen the glancing contact off the thigh, so I was trying to find some explanation for why the crew would have gone "no penalty" other than making a simple mistake. You have! I have also complained about this to friends, and I was mad about it for the whole first week after I received the instruction at a USYS event.
This seems one of those cases, and I’m sure we could make a list, where “something to consider” instead becomes a black letter rule. Perhaps driven At least in part by the ongoing influence of replay and the desire to make things black and white. In so many ways ITOOTR is gone from the game.
The penalty was saved and it was one of the weakest, easily saved, penalties I've ever seen at this level. A weak panenka right at the keeper. Brahim Diaz wanted to try a panenka 😂😂😂… AFCON una! 😂 pic.twitter.com/4eGA29UTbl— Cookey-Gam 🥷⚡ (@thereal_Cookey) January 18, 2026
The scenes at the OFR are absolutely farcical. I’m not exaggerating when I say there were close to 100 people in a huddle around the monitor. It looked like something you’d see in a comedy sketch more than a serious international tournament. And of course there are no consequences to this behavior, just a small number of yellow cards to the players on the pitch. About the decisions itself, I thought the disallowed Senegal goal was a clear foul, but the penalty is quite soft. The question I always ask is, if the attacker didn’t throw himself to the ground, or at least allow himself to fall so easily, would anyone think this is a penalty? Clearly not. I was fairly impressed by how the referee Ndala stayed always very calm during these quite chaotic scenes (with absolutely no help from CAF), and his performance on the field in extra time was good, especially considering the chaos he came out of. As far as negatives, his body language and signals were confusing and did not exude confidence (holding whistle at mouth, sometimes calling a foul with a half hearted signal or no signal at all, etc.), and I did think it was quite bizarre that regular time ended right after the penalty kick, as there were still some minutes still to play. It gives the impression of a referee being influenced by the chaotic scenes, i.e. not continuing in a normal way as if the chaos had never happened, which is a bad image.
One for the foul (#25), one for dissent immediately after the OFR (#18) and one to the goalkeeper near the end of the fracas after the teams had returned to the field, almost when the penalty was going to be taken. Nine others listed in the match report On one hand I feel like it’s hard to be mad about it, because how are the referees supposed to figure out who to book in a situation like that? But on the other hand, that is exactly why these lawless scenes are allowed to happen: there are seldom any consequences for poor behavior in modern football.
Disruption breaks out after Morocco are given a late penalty. pic.twitter.com/RqsKi7RXoG— ESPN Africa (@ESPNAfrica) January 18, 2026 This game has to be abandonedRiot police have jumped into the Senegal fans and people are being dragged off the pitch This is horrendous @TheAthleticFC pic.twitter.com/FufKAefGQU— Jay Harris (@jaydmharris) January 18, 2026 With the Africa Cup of Nations on the line, and 114 minutes on the clock, Brahim Diaz attempts a Panenka penalty and it is saved 🤯Incredible drama. You simply cannot beat football 🍿pic.twitter.com/m8gd1DZqS1— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) January 18, 2026 Crazy scenes that emphasize the lack of civil behavior and sportsmanship in CAF. On one hand, it’s very disappointing, but at least security was dealing with it to protect the pitch. But this shouldn’t be necessary to begin with.
What are the protocols for a situation like this? If team A leaves the pitch to protest a call, why isn't the match immediately forfeited to team B? Team A has effectively abandoned the match.... And who has the authority to make such a decision....the CR.....or some other official? From what I've read, it seems unclear whether or not Senegal left the pitch to protest the call, or for safety reasons. Did Morocco also leave the pitch?