Didier Drogba Slams VAR Decision

Didier Drogba slammed VAR for a 'disgraceful' decision in Cote d'Ivoire's FIFA World Cup defeat to Norway. The Elephants lost 2-1.

The controversy arose in the 79th minute when Nicolas Pepe was involved in a penalty shout.

Drogba posted on his X account, asking why the VAR refused to intervene in the penalty dispute.

And he questioned the point of VAR if the penalty on Pepe could not be called after review.

Norway won the game thanks to an 86th minute strike from Erling Haaland, booking their place in the Round of 16.

Erling Haaland made FIFA World Cup history against Cote d'Ivoire, scoring his fifth goal in three appearances.

He became the first player since Hungary's Sandor Kocsis in 1954 to score in each of their first three appearances in the FIFA World Cup.

Didier Drogba had played a central role in getting Cote d'Ivoire to their first-ever FIFA World Cup 20 years ago.

The Villarreal man, Nicolas Pepe, appeared to have taken a kick under his foot from Norway forward Andreas Schjelderup.

The referee, Jesus Valenzuela, was uninterested, and was not asked to review the incident by the VAR.

Drogba watched on in anger as his country was denied a penalty in its first-ever knockout game.

Norway's Erling Haaland has now scored 60 goals in only 53 games for his country.

He has scored in each of his last 13 appearances for Norway, finding the back of the net a remarkable 25 times.

Cote d'Ivoire was eliminated from the Round of 32 after the narrow defeat.

Amad Diallo had fired Cote d'Ivoire back level with a brilliant effort before Norway's winning goal.

Didier Drogba's criticism of VAR sparked a debate about the use of technology in football.

The FIFA World Cup clash between Cote d'Ivoire and Norway was a closely contested game.

Erling Haaland's goal was his fifth of the competition, putting him in second place in the goalscorer's rankings.