Controversial penalty ends Senegal’s FIFA World Cup campaign against Belgium | World Cup 2026 news

The punishment The decision against the Senegalese national team at the end of their match against Belgium on Wednesday caused widespread controversy after it led to their elimination from the 32nd match of the 2026 World Cup, in a bad turn that saw the “lions of Teranga” go from leading 2-0 to losing 3-2.

Honduran referee Said Martinez gave the decision at the end of the second period of extra time, after a VAR review, following a challenge by Senegal’s Lamine Camara on the Belgian captain Youri Tielemans, which was tied 2-2 and the game went to a shootout.

The “Archivo VAR” platform, which focuses on the decisions of the referees, said that VAR intervened too much in the game, and confirmed that it was Tielemans who extended his foot in front of Camara, which caused the contact.

tower added, through his account on “X,” that the incident did not allow the VAR to intervene, explaining that it was the Belgian player who forced full contact, and that the incident was not an error and obvious enough to require the referee to review the decision.

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The decision sparked controversy on social media, with one fan writing: “This is 100% theft. Senegal has been robbed.

Game producer Sneako criticized the results of the game “”manipulating”.

Senegal must destroy the stadium right now. Leave the yard and go home.

One fan wrote: “Sorry, but this was not a penalty. Camara went to clear the ball, but it was Tielemans who stopped him. Senegal was robbed, and Belgium should have come out.

Spanish sports journalist Manolo Lama comments: “They stole the Africa Cup of Nations from them, and now they are stealing the whole agreement with Senegal for the World Cup.”

Egyptian journalist Mohamed Saeed connected that happened in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations Final against Morocco, he writes: “You can imagine that the penalty awarded to Senegal in the last seconds was a painful lesson and a difficult test.

Another sports fan, Fares Ahmed, he wrote that football “teaches lessons” and the results brought back memories of Senegal at the tournament in Morocco.

“They took advantage of the threat of the competition and the need for their hosts to do well, and they used that to put pressure on,” Ahmed said. “Today, the situation was almost repeated against Belgium – a penalty in the last minute, opposition, and disbelief in the decision – but this time there was no risk of leaving, because you cannot put penalties like this in a major World Cup.”

Drawing a connection between these two events, one follower he wrote on “X”: “When there was a clear penalty in the Moroccan finals, they rebelled against the decision and tarnished the reputation of African football, because the competition was in Morocco.”

After the penalty, Tielemans stepped up to take it and scored well, scoring Belgium’s third goal and an unexpected comeback that eliminated the Teranga Lions.

But back on the field, Senegal played for 85 minutes. The African team took the lead by two goals, and both secured a place in the Round of 16 at the World Cup.

Within five minutes, it was crushed and the players felt it.

“We were in the heart of writing the beautiful pages of our football history in the world,” said defender Krepin Diatta. “And we have to admit that we have failed in our mission.”

Senegalese midfielder Habib Diarra said. “We did well in the first half, but it wasn’t enough. The game lasts 90 minutes, and we’re exhausted. It’s very difficult. I don’t know what to say. When you’re on the pitch, you have to give yourself up, and that’s not what we did. We just blamed ourselves.”