In the images, the hand, like a volleyball player’s smash, is obvious, but it had escaped the referee, and VAR does not exist in the Europa League Conference. It therefore took the good faith of the Qarabag club for Ibrahima Wadji’s goal against OM to be canceled on Thursday evening in Baku, Azerbaijan. The event occurred after several minutes of discussions and anger in the Marseille camp.
In a burning atmosphere, Wadji finally left to discuss with his trainer Gurban Gurbanov. They then exchanged a few words with Polish referee Bartosz Frankowski, who canceled the goal and gave OM a free kick.
Wadji’s gesture took place in the 34th minute, when OM were leading 1-0 from the 12th minute and a goal from Pape Gueye. The match was stopped for just over five minutes. In the end, OM won 3-0 and qualified, after their 3-1 first leg success.
Sampaoli’s confession
“The opposing coach showed his level of humanity and fair play. He was honest, it’s the gesture of someone of great value. It’s a very rare case and if it had happened to me, I don’t think I would have accepted the change in the referee’s decision. It’s a lesson,” said Marseille coach Jorge Sampaoli after the match.
“It was a decision that I took easily. In life, you have to be honest”, then explained his counterpart from Qarabag, Gurban Gurbanov. “I called the player, asked him if he scored with his hand and he said yes. I did not hesitate and said that we did not accept this goal. I’ll do it again if it happens again and hope the fans won’t be disappointed. But I think I made the right decision,” he added.
The role of Guendouzi
“With the VAR it would have been canceled directly, observed Mattéo Guendouzi, the OM midfielder very upset on the spot. What you have to remember is that it’s a great gesture on their part, they didn’t have to accept it. According to Wadji, interviewed by RMC SportGuendouzi played a role in this fact of the game. “He said to me:” you are a Muslim, if you do not tell the truth God will punish you, “said the Senegalese striker from Qarabag.