Rabiot's hand before Mbappé's goal against Morocco was lawful, according to regulations

The controversy arising from the France-Morocco quarter-final finds an answer in the rulebook: Adrien Rabiot’s hand, which occurred before Kylian Mbappé’s goal, should not have been whistled or referred to VAR.

The day after the match, Morocco’s coach Mohamed Ouahbi had pointed to this disputed action to explain his team’s defeat. “The goal comes from a somewhat confusing action… some stop because they see a hand. There is a hand, I don’t know if it should be whistled or not,” he said, before acknowledging “an individual action by Mbappé who scores.”

The specialized ArchivoVAR account, a reference for interpreting the laws of the game, nevertheless rules clearly in favor of the referees. “The Frenchman touches the ball with his hand after a first rebound off his foot. Since it is an unintentional hand by a player who does not score, VAR intervention is not possible,” it writes, citing IFAB Law 12.

A second element reinforces this interpretation: shortly after the disputed contact, Noussair Mazraoui briefly recovers the ball, which breaks the direct link between Rabiot’s hand and the goal scored by Mbappé. With the action no longer in immediate continuity with the incriminated gesture, any complaint on this basis loses even more substance.

The images broadcast during the match had provided no slow-motion replay to settle the matter immediately, fueling frustration among Morocco supporters in the stands. While Morocco’s disappointment at being eliminated at this stage of the competition remains understandable, the regulatory analysis appears to vindicate the refereeing team.