Denied Ghana, Penalised Senegal: Martinez at the centre of another African controversy

When Ghana faced England in their second group game, their approach was disciplined and controlled.

With qualification for the Round of 32 within reach, the Black Stars set up to stay compact, frustrate England, and strike on the break.

They largely executed the plan well, and just as against Panama, they created dangerous moments in transition.

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One of the clearest came when Prince Adu broke into the penalty area and went down under a challenge from Ezri Konsa.

There was minimal on-field protest, but in modern VAR-era football, that is not always decisive; the expectation is that key incidents are still reviewed centrally.

Referee Said Martinez allowed play to continue, and VAR did not recommend an on-field review.

Replays later showed contact from Konsa that many pundits and neutral analysts, including Wayne Rooney and Gary Neville, suggested could have warranted a penalty.

No Explanation, No Support

No public explanation was provided by FIFA regarding why the incident was not checked on the monitor, and CAF also did not issue any formal response.

From a refereeing perspective, such decisions are typically reviewed internally by FIFA’s referee committee, where performance is assessed and, where necessary, officials are rotated out of knockout-stage appointments if they are deemed not to have met the required standard.

Rewarded With a Knockout Game

However, Martinez remained in the tournament and was later assigned a Round of 32 knockout match involving Senegal.

In that match, Senegal led 2-0 before Belgium mounted a late comeback to level the game.

In extra time, with Senegal clinging to a 2-2 draw and penalties looming, the game briefly opened into chaos.

A cross came in from João Moreira Jr, looping into a crowded Senegal box.

Tielemans dived to meet it, but Lamine Camara reacted first, getting a touch as the ball dropped dangerously inside the area.

It spilled loose and broke kindly for Dodi Lukébakio, who lashed a powerful strike goalwards. The shot thundered off the crossbar, sparking wild relief in the Senegal defence.

VAR Stepping In

For a moment, it felt like Belgium had wasted another golden chance, the kind of escape England had experienced earlier in the tournament when Adu raced in on goal.

But this time, the story did not move on.

VAR stepped in.

Before the rebound and Lukébakio’s shot could fully define the phase of play, the review focused on the initial contact: Camara’s challenge on Tielemans as the ball arrived in the box. The referee was called to the monitor.

After a long look, Said Martinez pointed to the spot.

Tielemans stepped up and converted, completing Belgium’s 3-2 comeback and sending Senegal out of the World Cup.

It was a decisive shift, not just in the match, but in interpretation. A similar kind of penalty area contact in Ghana’s game against England had not triggered an on-field review.

There, play continued, and the moment passed without intervention.

Here, VAR rewound the sequence, isolated the initial challenge, and altered the match's outcome entirely.

It was heartbreak for Senegal. But for most Africans watching, it reignited a familiar question: why do two similar penalty-area incidents end with two very different VAR thresholds on the same stage of the tournament?

And beyond that, a deeper concern has emerged: why is a referee who had already been at the centre of a major group-stage controversy still entrusted with a high-stakes knockout fixture, where any marginal decision can define a nation’s World Cup?

For critics, it is no longer just about individual calls, but about how African teams are treated at the Mundial, how decisions are interpreted, how VAR thresholds are applied, and how consistency is maintained when African nations are on the pitch.

FKA

LilWin celebrates Black Stars’ qualification to the knockout phase