Beaten 1-0 at home by Tunisia in the first leg, Mali had the opportunity to reset the counters after only 4 minutes during the return play-offs of the 2022 World Cup (0-0), except that Diadie Samassekou’s goal was disallowed for a difficult to understand offside. For its part, the VAR obviously did not flinch, but was it able to fulfill its role? Assistant coach of the Eagles before being recently sacked, Fousseni Diawara was in the front row and ensures that there was a malfunction.
“ I can tell you: the VAR didn’t work. I followed how it happened, I watched the attitude of the referee, I was next to the screen: the goal we scored was completely valid and did not was checked by the VAR because the VAR was not working ”, denounced the former defender of Saint-Etienne on the airwaves of RFI. “ You saw, the realization passed very quickly, the referee didn’t even take the time. He put his hand in his ear but I can say 100% that the VAR was not working. So that too is not normal for a match with such a high stake. »
Between this controversy and the contentious decisions of Bakary Gassama during Algeria-Cameroon (1-2, ap), African arbitration will not have shone during these decisive matches…
