The 2026 World Cup was never going to pass by without some refereeing controversy. Perhaps the most remarkable bit of officiating, however, came from Uzbekistan’s Ilgiz Tantashev during the 1-0 France win over Paraguay.

It was a tight game in terms of chances as the South Americans worked extremely hard to keep their European opposition at bay. This worked for the most part, but a VAR review led to a penalty, which was dispatched by Kylian Mbappe in the 70th minute.

This was enough to settle the game, but the French players will feel as though they were not helped by the officiating on the day, with the Paraguayan stars allowed to play an extremely physical game without fair punishment.

Ilgiz Tantashev Sparks World Cup Drama With Refereeing Display

A number of incidents have gone viral from the match, with referee Tantashev – officiating his first World Cup and known for his willingness to let games flow – very much the centre of attention. Remarkably, Paraguay completed the encounter without picking up a single yellow card, while France were handed three bookings.

One moment summed up the issues, with Andres Cubas crunching into Adrien Rabiot without getting a card:

There were also multiple moments where Paraguay players lashed out at France stars such as Mbappe and Jules Kounde, with one instance showing a clear kick on the shins of the star striker. Despite this, no yellow cards were dished out.

Speaking on BBC Sport, Joe Hart called out the Paraguay players, saying:

He also praised Mbappe for keeping his composure during the game. Micah Richards added that it was ’embarrassing to see.’

Paraguay Stars Bend the Rules But Still Lose to France

Referee Tantashev even had to rely on VAR before awarding a penalty after a clear foul on Desire Doue. What’s more, he failed to stop the Paraguay stars from scuffing the spot kick before Mbappe stepped up to score.

The game threatened to boil over on multiple occasions, with players coming together at full-time as well. Fans online were completely shocked by the refereeing, with one noting:

Another added: “Worst referee performance of the tournament this.”While, after one bad foul, a third said:

“Worst refereeing performance of the tournament. I can’t believe there hasn’t been a card awarded for that. It’s not even that he’s lost control over the game it’s just the fact he isn’t giving any of the basic decisions. Extremely poor officiating all over.”

In the end, it was a miracle there were no red cards, with a number of Paraguay stars more than lucky to avoid such punishment – while the French players did well to not lose their tempers.

Newcastle United have held talks with Borussia Dortmund over a deal to sign Felix Nmecha as a replacement for Sandro Tonali, according to Craig Hope.

The Magpies have agreed a £100m deal with Tottenham Hotspur to sell the Italy international in a big-money deal, having already sold Anthony Gordon to Barcelona in a deal worth £70m earlier in the window.

Eddie Howe is now looking for ways to bolster and rebuild his squad ahead of the new season after missing out on European football, and has set his sights on a move for the Germany international.

Newcastle Hold Talks for Nmecha

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Nmecha, who shone at the World Cup for Germany before their surprise elimination against Paraguay in the Round of 32, has emerged as a potential target for a number of clubs after his performances.

Dortmund are understood to value the 25-year-old at a huge €120m (£103m) as they look to keep hold of him, and despite holding talks with Newcastle over a potential move, it’s not expected to progress much further as a result.

Newcastle are also aware of growing interest in captain Bruno Guimaraes from Premier League champions Arsenal, and that has seen them begin to look at potential options to replace him in case they are forced into a sale.

Howe and Newcastle do not want to lose the Brazilian, and are prepared to offer him a new contract to keep him at St James’ Park, but conversations have been had with the Bundesliga side about a potential deal in case they need it.

Nmecha Would Be Top Signing

via Reuters

Newcastle, obviously, don’t want to lose Guimaraes this summer if they can help it – especially after they already sold key players like Tonali and Gordon.

But the Brazil star is 28 and a huge offer could be something they simply can’t ignore, so it’s sensible that they are looking at potential options to replace him this summer, even if they don’t intend to pull the trigger at this stage.

With his physical profile, quality on the ball, and top-level experience, mixed with the fact he counts as homegrown, it would be a terrific signing if they could pull it off, but they’d rather bring him in alongside Bruno than to replace him.

With the 2026 World Cup now heading to the latter stages, England still have every hope of going all the way again for the first time since 1966. Their next opponents will be co-hosts Mexico, with the game set to take place Sunday 6pm local time (1am Monday morning in the United Kingdom).

Thomas Tuchel’s men topped their group with wins over Croatia and Panama, as well as a draw against Ghana. This led to a Last 32 tie against DR Congo, which nearly ended in disaster for the Three Lions.

Having fallen behind, England struggled to find their rhythm in the first half and did not get themselves back level until the 75th minute. It was Harry Kane who came to his nation’s rescue, bagging a winner just 11 minutes later.

After the game, the players walked through the mixed zone, but most appeared to ignore a World Cup journalist.

Only Two England Players Stop For Journalist

Having struggled to get past DR Congo, the England players would have felt relief more than anything in the aftermath of the match. That said, many didn’t seem that keen to take the time to talk to Venezuelan reporter Маnu Gutierrez in the mixed zone.

As footage appeared online, it appeared that only two players spoke to the journalist. The first was star midfielder Jude Bellingham, who spoke out on the deadly earthquakes which have ravaged the South American nation. As translated into English from Spanish via the Sun, he said:

Gutierrez also asked a number of England stars to stop for just one question, but got no response until Noni Madueke came along. The Arsenal star said of the comeback win against DR Congo:

“Yeah, very happy. I’m super happy.”

Watch the full clip below:

Fans Slam England Stars After Journalist Treatment

England players pose for a team group photo before the match vs DR Congo via REUTERS/Paul Childs

Fans online saw the clip but were far from impressed by those England stars who ignored the journalist. One wrote:

Another added: “Being nice doesn’t cost you anything.” While a third said: “Not acknowledging someone has nothing at all to do with pressure… Just terrible manners…”

Another went as far as to call it ‘Disgraceful’, while somebody else wrote: “That’s so rude of them!”

For the two players who stopped, however, fans were impressed by their actions. One said: “Absolute class from Jude and Noni.”

While another wrote: “That is a genuinely heartwarming gesture from both of them. It’s great to see players take a moment to connect like that.”