Kylian Mbappe’s 80th minute goal against Spain guided France to a 2-1 win in the UEFA Nations League final on Sunday. However, the PSG forward appeared to be offside and the goal raised questions, especially on social media.
Mbappe received a pass from Theo Hernandez inside the box and scored with ease against Las Rojas goalkeeper Unai Simon.
“UEFA definitely fixing this for France… How is Mbappe not given offside?” a fan tweeted alleging that the referee did not disallow the 22-year-old’s goal that eventually decided the game’s result.
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“There’s no way Mbappe wasn’t offside,” another one said.
However, the replay revealed that Spain’s centre-back Eric Garcia brushed the ball, which may have ruled out a foul.
Spain’s skipper Sergio Busquets after the game revealed that Garcia’s touch established a new phase of play.
“Mbappe was offside, but the referee said that Eric went for the ball and that this started a new phase,” Busquets told RTVE.
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“That makes no sense, though. He went to try to cut the ball out because Mbappe was there and he assumed Mbappe was onside, so he did what any defender would have done in trying to cut it out,” he added.
“What’s incredible is that they didn’t trace a line when he seems to be in a clearly offside position,” MARCA’s refereeing expert Alfonso Perez Burrull, who is former referee said during the match.
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After a first half deadlock, Mikel Oyarzabal put Spain ahead in the 64th minute only to see Benzema respond with a gorgeous finish into the far top corner. Mbappe netted with 10 minutes remaining as France was again forced to fight back, just as it had done in the semifinals against Belgium.
European champion Italy beat Belgium 2-1 in the third-place match earlier Sunday.