In a CCTV program, renowned referee Sun Baojie analyzed the controversial calls in the France vs. Spain semi-final, arguing that the penalty awarded to Yamal involved a handball first, and if the handball had been called first, the penalty should have been disallowed. He concluded that France was disadvantaged in several instances of misjudgment.
In a CCTV program, Sun Baojie analyzed the controversial refereeing decisions in the semi-final match between Spain and France, especially the controversial penalty awarded to Yamal.
Sun Baojie's interpretation is as follows: First, we see the match between France and Spain. Spain is attacking, and Yamal falls in the penalty area. The referee's decision to award a penalty is very decisive and timely. Looking at this replay alone, number 3 (Digne) did indeed commit a foul by kicking the ball head-on; that's undeniable. However, another important detail cannot be ignored: before being kicked, Yamal actually touched the ball with his hand. Should this touch have been ruled a handball foul? Some argue that Yamal's tucked-in arm was unintentional. However, tucking the arm in is not the sole criterion for determining whether a handball was intentional. We see that Yamal's eyes were fixed on the ball; he knew its direction, landing point, and trajectory. Despite this, he still charged towards the ball with his arm tucked in, and his arm touched the ball, resulting in a penalty. Therefore, in this situation, if a handball foul had been ruled first, canceling the penalty would have been more reasonable.
