Haaland slams referee over three-minute VAR delay before Mbappe's missed penalty

Erling Haaland took aim at referee Facundo Tello after a VAR delay of more than three minutes preceded Kylian Mbappe’s missed penalty in France’s 2-0 World Cup quarter-final victory over Morocco.

Argentine official Tello awarded France a first-half spot-kick when Noussair Mazraoui brought down Mbappe, but an inexplicable wait followed before the France captain was permitted to take the kick. When he finally stepped up, Bounou saved the timid effort with ease.

Haaland, watching ahead of Norway’s own quarter-final against England, vented his frustration on Snapchat, posting a picture of his television screen with the caption: “Need to wait 5 min to take a penalty is way too long.”

The Manchester City striker was not alone. Roy Keane, working as a pundit, said the delay was fundamentally unfair on the penalty-taker. “Over three minutes… I know these are world-class players but it is unfair because it is a pressure situation,” Keane said. “Why does he have to wait three minutes? Time is the enemy for a striker when you’re waiting. You’re giving the advantage back to the goalkeeper and the team who’ve conceded the penalty, so it’s not right.”

Fellow pundit Ian Wright agreed, adding: “It probably does put you off. The longer you have to wait for a penalty the more you doubt what you’re going to do.”

Mbappe ultimately made amends with a second-half goal as France became the first side into the semi-finals, but the officiating controversy overshadowed the result.

Tello’s appointment had itself drawn scrutiny before kick-off. He was part of an all-Argentine officiating team — the first time in the knockout stage of this World Cup that every official on the pitch had come from the same country. French fans and media had objected ahead of the match, given Argentina’s status as one of France’s primary rivals for the trophy.

The broader refereeing picture at the tournament has been turbulent. Egypt have launched an official complaint to FIFA following Argentina’s 3-2 last-16 win over their side, with forward Mostafa Ziko — who had a goal disallowed before scoring later — accusing the competition of being “fixed”.