John McGinn was reportedly given a bizarre explanation by referee Ilgiz Tantashev after Scotland were denied a crucial penalty in their defeat to Morocco.
The Aston Villa captain was brought down in the box by Neil El Aynaoui, but Tantashev waved away strong appeals, with VAR opting not to intervene.
The decision proved pivotal, as a spot kick could have hauled Steve Clarke’s side level in Boston and boosted their hopes of reaching the World Cup knockout stages. Instead, Morocco held on for a narrow 1-0 victory, leaving Scotland players “devastated” after a series of contentious moments.
McGinn’s brother, Stephen, has now revealed the reasoning given by the Uzbekistani official and admits it left him stunned.
Speaking to BBC Sportsound, he said: “That referee was extremely frustrating. He was letting a lot of things go, which is fine, but then pulling back other things. He was quite inconsistent.”
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On the penalty incident, he added: “At the time I thought, ‘this is going to be the one if it goes to VAR.’ That was my gut feeling. Having seen it back, it’s a penalty. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind.”
Stephen McGinn then revealed the explanation given to the Scotland skipper on the pitch.
He said: “The referee told John that because the ball was going out of play, it wasn’t a foul. I’m thinking, when has that ever been the case?
“In any action, whether it’s fast or slow, when you take on a defender and he takes you out, the ball is eventually going to run out of play. So it doesn’t make sense.”
He also questioned the referee’s overall approach, adding: “He looked like the type of ref that wanted to referee the game. He didn’t want the game re-refereed.”
