Edouard Mendy sends ex-Arsenal ace ‘airborne’ however ref ignores penalty till VAR
The Ivory Coast did issues the arduous method to attain the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals.
And they will be glad the video assistant referee’s prescription was updated after the on-field official initially missed a evident spot-kick determination. In reality, ex-Arsenal winger Nicolas Pepe was even cautioned for diving when referee Pierre Atcho initially noticed him somersault over Senegal stopper Edouard Mendy.
Former Chelsea goalkeeper Mendy, 31, got here off his line to forestall Pepe from equalising some 80 minutes after Habib Diallo had put Aliou Cisse’s males in entrance. But what gave the impression to be a stonewall determination to these watching at residence required a VAR assessment for the one whose decision-making mattered most – regardless of the very fact Pepe had clearly been despatched “airborne,” and never of his personal volition.
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“The best advert you will ever see for VAR,” wrote one critic in response to the occasions. “Mendy practically assaults Pepe and the ref books Pepe for diving.”
Another spectator added: “Booking Pepe for diving there might actually be the worst refereeing decision I’ve ever seen.” Others commented in actual time that it “had to be a penalty” for the Ivory Coast, which got here 10 minutes after Mendy pulled off a formidable save to disclaim Pepe’s half-volley try.
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One viewer even went as far as to recommend the referee needs to be “sacked immediately after the game” for cautioning Pepe, who lastly ended a dismal four-year spell at Arsenal by becoming a member of Trabzonspor in 2023. “How in the name of all that is holy did he not give it?!”
As destiny would have it, Franck Kessie stepped as much as convert previous his Al-Ahli team-mate and power additional time. The match then went to penalties, the place a miss from Nottingham Forest‘s Moussa Niakhate proved the distinction because the Ivory Coast superior.
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Kessie as soon as once more had the telling contact from 12 yards and struck a second spot-kick to finish the comeback, which would not have materialised with out Pepe’s probing runs. And maybe the VAR can be due a fruit basket from the Elephants employees as properly.
The identical will not be stated for Gabonese referee Atcho following his preliminary oversight. The Ivory Coast will face both Mali or Burkina Faso within the competitors’s final eight, whereas Senegal’s stars make their method residence after tumbling out of rivalry.
