Nigeria penalty claim: Was referee wrong in VAR decision vs Argentina at World Cup?

Nigeria had clawed their way back into the World Cup Group D match thanks to a Victor Moses penalty after Lionel Messi had opened the scoring.

But the African side thought they were deserving of a second penalty when Marcos Rojo headed the ball onto his own arm.

The referee did not blow his whistle and moments later Nigeria striker Odion Ighalo wasted a glorious opportunity to score from 14 yards out.

And once his shot flew wide he immediately appealed for a penalty.

Ref Cuneyt Cakir refused to give a spot kick immediately and went to VAR, who then called him over to the off-pitch TV screen.

And after some moments of deliberation Cakir gave a goal kick.

Nigeria were furious but Cakir evidently believed Rojo’s handball was not intentional.

But the decision has already caused controversy, with Iran earning a penalty off a handball by Portugal’s Cedric Soares last night.

Iran scored their spot-kick to earn an unlikely draw against Portugal, even though plenty thought Soares was unlucky to be penalised.

So, should Nigeria have been awarded a penalty? Leave your view in the comments section below…