FIFA have dismissed France’s protest regarding their disallowed equaliser against Tunisia at the World Cup.
Antoine Griezmann fired home in stoppage-time in what appeared to save France from suffering a shock defeat.
However, the goal was subsequently ruled out for offside after the final whistle when referee Matthew Conger went to the monitor as Tunisia clinched a famous 1-0 win.
This was because when Aurelien Tchouameni’s cross came into the box, there was a subjective offside call based on whether defender Montassa Talibi made a “deliberate play” for the ball.
If it was ruled he had then Griezmann would have been onside, but if he was deemed to be stretching for the ball and unable to have a true influence on where it ended up – so the goal was ruled out.
But the decision itself was not at the centre of France’s appeal.
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According to ESPN, what happened afterwards was what the world champions had a major issue with.
Tunisia kicked off, only for the referee to blow for full-time moments later.
And the fact that play resumed before the end of the game means a VAR review could then not take place by the letter of the law.
Yet it still did – with Griezmann’s goal ruled out and play resuming for a Tunisian free-kick.
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The game then ended for a second time 40 seconds later.
But the Laws of the Game state that an incorrect use of VAR does not invalidate a game.
As a result, Fifa have dismissed France’s protest.
The outcome of the match ended up having no impact on either team’s tournament anyway.
France still qualified as winners of Group D, while Tunisia were eliminated following Australia’s 1-0 win over Denmark.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
