It was Morocco’s night and taken home a deserved victory.
Scotland feel cheated of a penalty in their narrow 1-0 defeat to Morocco in Group C – and a former referee believes the decision was wrong. There was no shortage of drama when Scotland faced Morocco in their second group game. The loss did come, but not without fierce controversy. In the second half, the Scots were denied what is described by many as a clear penalty.
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Morocco secured the win and climbed to the top of the group – at least for a while – thanks to Ismael Saibari’s early goal. Thus, the North Africans made history and approached a top spot that will provide the best possible seeding before the playoffs.
Scottish frustration and weak numbers
Steve Clarke’s men struggled to break down a compact Morocco team. Despite six finishes, they didn’t hit a single goal. The statistics speak for themselves – but still, Scotland will be left with a feeling of having been deprived of a chance to turn the game around.
McTominay fouled – referee waved no
The big topic of controversy came when Scott McTominay went to the ground in the peloton after a duel with Neil El Aynaoui. The Moroccan appeared to hit the Scotsman on the leg, but referee Ilgiz Tantashev was not interested. He waved furiously at protests, and VAR did not intervene to correct either.
Refereeing expert: “Very clear penalty”
After the game, however, there was little agreement in the studio. Former top judge Christina Unkel was fierce in her assessment on ITV’s broadcast:
“The first thing VAR has to look for is whether there is a touch of the ball. The answer is no. There is a leg brake from behind that hits the left calf. This is in my opinion a clear penalty – and a miss from VAR,” she said.
Duncan Ferguson quickly agreed: “It was a penalty. There is clear contact, and McTominay is going down,” he said.
Roy Keane disagrees – and alone in that
Roy Keane, on the other hand, pulled in the opposite direction: “I don’t think it’s a penalty, it’s as simple as that. He will fall,” said the former Manchester United captain.
Keane, however, seemed to be quite alone in that assessment. Both at the RTÉ studio and among his compatriots Kevin Doyle, Stephen Hunt and Stephen Kelly, there was a broad consensus that Scotland should have had a penalty.
Scotland thus had to leave the field with a 1-0 defeat in the bag – and a strong feeling that they were cheated of a crucial moment in the match.
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