World Cup VAR review: Should France have gotten penalty vs. Senegal? - ESPN

The video assistant referee causes controversy every week, whether it be the Premier League, Champions League or FA Cup, but now we have a 104-game FIFA men's World Cup to cover, so how are the decisions made this summer and are they correct?

For the tournament, we are taking a look at the major incidents to examine and explain the process in terms of both VAR protocol and the laws of the game.

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Andy Davies (@andydaviesref) is a former Select Group referee, with over 12 seasons on the elite list, working across the Premier League and Championship. With extensive experience at the elite level, he has operated within the VAR space in the Premier League and offers a unique insight into the processes, rationale and protocols that are delivered on a World Cup matchday.

Referee: Alireza Faghani
VAR: Abdullah Atif Abdulrahman Alshehri
Time: 62nd minute
Incident: Possible penalty to France.

What happened: As Kylian Mbappé flew into the Senegal penalty area at speed, Sadio Mané lunged into a late challenge, appearing to catch Mbappé, who went to ground. The referee waved away the appeals and awarded a goal kick. VAR recommended an on-field review for a possible penalty kick.

VAR review: When at the screen, referee Alireza Faghani stuck to his on-field decision of no penalty kick, citing that «the attacker initiated the contact» and therefore no foul challenge had occurred.

Verdict: I am amazed at the referee's decision to stick with his on-field judgment of no penalty kick. Mané's challenge was a late lunge, making no contact with the ball, and clearly clipping the left leg of Mbappé, who was moving at speed.

VAR took his time reviewing the replays; however, he was