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Friday morning’s Europa Conference League clash between Marseille and Qarabag delivered a stunning act of sportsmanship, as a player scored a goal with his hand and sparked eight minutes of chaos on the pitch – before asking the referee to overturn his goal.
French heavyweights Olympique Marseille were leading 1-0 (and 4-1 on aggregate) half an hour into the second leg of their round of 16 fixture when Senegalese striker Ibrahima Wadji punched a ball into the goal for the Azerbaijani side.
Polish referee Bartosz Frankowski missed the handball, which came as Wadji competed with Marseille’s goalkeeper for a cross.
And the third-tier European continental tournament – unlike the Champions League and Europa League – does not employ a video assistant referee (VAR) until the final of the competition.
Marseille players were incensed, with on-loan Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi reportedly chasing his opponent around the pitch while repeatedly shouting: “You’re a cheat.”
The referee handed out a raft of yellow cards to the furious Marseille players for their complaints and tried to restore order.
But Wadji went to speak with Qarabag coach Gurban Gurbanov and conceded the offence before the player spoke to the referee who eventually overturned the ruling – a full eight minutes after the goal had been originally allowed.
Marseille were infamously eliminated in the semi-final of the European Cup in 1990 by Benfica forward Vata, who punched home a goal now known as the ‘hand of the devil’ – a reference to Diego Maradona’s famous ‘hand of God’ goal.
Source: myJoy
