'Hat-trick stolen' Mbappé declares 'NO' to penalty kick; experts condemn referee, saying "Mané kicked him"... Former referee calls it "trash call"

*This content was translated by AI.

Kylian Mbappé of Real Madrid might have scored a hat-trick from the very first match of the World Cup. After his penalty kick (PK) was disallowed, football experts fiercely criticized the referee.

On the 17th (Korea time), France secured a 3-1 victory in the Group I first match of the 2026 FIFA North American World Cup held at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA, thanks to Mbappé's multi-goal performance. France, which had lost to Senegal in the opening match of the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, succeeded in avenging that defeat after 24 years.

After the match, the UK's 'The Independent' reported, "Local experts fiercely criticized the referee's decision after Mbappé's clear penalty kick was disallowed following a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review."

The situation unfolded as follows: Sadio Mané tackled Mbappé inside the penalty box, causing him to fall. However, Australian referee Alireza Faghani, after checking the VAR monitor, declared no foul, claiming instead that Mbappé had initiated contact first.

Local football experts reacted against the referee's decision. Pat Nevin of BBC Sport in the UK strongly criticized, calling it "just a trash call and complete nonsense." He added, "The claim that Mbappé initiated contact first is the most absurd thing I have ever heard."

English legendary striker Alan Shearer also said, "I cannot understand it at all," pointing out, "It is clearly visible that Mané charged and struck Mbappé with his left leg. How can he initiate contact first when Mbappé was in front of the opponent? It is truly a bizarre call."

Reactions from the refereeing community were the same. Darren Kane, who served as a linesman in the 2010 South Africa World Cup final, declared, "I simply cannot support the referee's decision. Anyone can see it is a clear penalty kick." He continued, "Messages asking why it wasn't a penalty kick have been flooding my phone from the world's top referees. It is extremely surprising that a penalty kick was not awarded even after VAR review."

Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappé led France to victory by scoring multiple goals on this day. Struggling against the opponent's defense in the first half, Mbappé began his scoring machine in earnest during the second half. In the 21st minute of the second half, he gently pushed in a pass from Michael Olise that was threaded into the penalty area, recording the opening goal. With this goal, Mbappé achieved consecutive scoring in three World Cup tournaments and his 13th career goal, surpassing Pelé's record of 12 goals.

Subsequently, when Senegal scored a consolation goal to trail 1-2 in stoppage time of the second half, Mbappé immediately scored a sharp long-range strike to complete his multi-goal performance.

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*This content was translated by AI.