Scotland is staring down elimination at the World Cup, and the moment that might have saved them is already the subject of a full-blown debate. Scott McTominay went down in the box in the 82nd minute against Morocco, trailing 1-0, and everyone immediately started arguing about whether it was a penalty or not.
Replays showed Morocco’s Neil El Aynaoui sticking out a leg and catching McTominay. He didn’t touch the ball. The Scottish bench lost it, McTominay pleaded with the referee, and ITV’s referee analyst Christina Unkel said she thought the initial no-call was wrong, but not so clear that VAR should have stepped in to fix it.
It was the third penalty appeal Scotland had in the game, and it was by far the loudest. The referee, Igliz Tantashev from Uzbekistan, said no. Play kept going. Morocco held onto their lead and won their first World Cup match, jumping past Scotland in Group C standings.
That leaves Scotland in a tough spot. They play Brazil in Miami on Wednesday in their final group game. Win and they might sneak through. Lose or draw, and they’re probably going home early.
On the broadcast after the game, the pundits couldn’t agree. Former Scotland striker Duncan Ferguson called it a stonewall penalty. “Absolutely, it was a penalty. There was a big touch and then McTominay goes down. He’s running at that speed, and I think he can get in on goal,” Ferguson said.
Roy Keane and Ange Postecoglou saw it differently. Keane said McTominay was looking for contact. “I think he’s looking to go down. There’s a difference,” Keane said. Postecoglou added: “The Moroccan player puts his leg out but I don’t think he gets enough of him for it to be a penalty. He does get across him, but not for a penalty. I think he was going down anyway — but Big Dunc says it’s a stonewall so I’m not going to disagree.”
Unkel noted that Tantashev is known for needing more contact before he calls a foul. Keane shrugged that off, saying it’s a physical game. The whole thing feels like one of those calls that will be replayed and argued over for years, especially if Scotland ends up going home because of it.
The bigger problem for Scotland might be how they started the game. Morocco’s Ismael Saibari scored 70 seconds in, a lightning strike that put Scotland on their heels from the first whistle. They never really recovered.
Now it’s all down to Brazil. Scotland needs something close to a miracle.
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