Morocco Coach Makes Big ‘Handball’ Claim Over Kylian Mbappe Goal: “Some Players Stopped”

Morocco head coach Mohamed Ouahbi was unhappy with VAR for not checking a possible handball in the build-up to France’s first goal during their FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-final match. Ouahbi insisted that there was “definitely a handball” before the Kylian Mbappe goal as Morocco crashed out of the competition following a 2-0 loss. The controversy emerged when several Moroccan players stopped playing, believing Adrien Rabiot had handled the ball. Ouahbi admitted he was unsure whether it should have been given as a free-kick but maintained that the handball occurred.

“I don’t know whether it should have been called or not; I have no idea… in the end, it was an individual effort from Kylian Mbappe; that led to the goal.”

Coming to the match, Kylian Mbappe overcame a first-half penalty miss to lead France into a third successive FIFA World Cup semi-final, beating Morocco 2-0 in the last-16.