09.10.2021, 21:4209.10.2021, 22:44
It would have been a perfect start: Denis Zakaria, of all people, advanced a few minutes later with a powerful shot from distance in his hometown of Geneva against defensively strong Northern Ireland.
But the cheers of the team and the fans in the stadium did not last long. The Video Assistant (VAR) speaks and checks the scene for a possible intrusion site. On the one hand with the wide ball to the side on Kevin Mbabo, and on the other hand also with Zakaria’s shot when Xherdan Shaqiri is offside but does not interfere in the match. After what seemed like an eternal wait, the decision: The goal didn’t matter.
The situation with Mbabu.
Build: srf . screenshot
The situation with Shakiri.
Build: srf . screenshot
An offside position was given to Kevin Mbabu as the official reason for rejecting the hit – a very narrow decision. “This is a blatantly wrong decision,” SRF commentator Sacha Rover immediately decided. After all, Switzerland could stop squabbling in the first half: shortly before the break, Steven Zuber scored the well-deserved 1-0 goal. In the end there is a 2-0 sovereign victory.
It was not the only controversial decision of the referee team in the first half. The Northern Irish play early and are punished hard for it. Jamal Lewis sees a second yellow at the 37th minute for a time delay and is thrown off the field.
Louis expelled.
Video: streamja
This is not a wrong decision, but since Lewis had been warned about a mistake about a quarter of an hour ago, referee Slavko Vincic can be accused of lacking tact. There would have been many other Northern Irish players one could set an example in this regard. (Abu)