Why Canada didn't get a penalty after Richie Laryea was fouled in box by South Africa

Richie Laryea had gotten to the end line. He was about to swing in a left-footed pass for Canada from inside the penalty box.

South Africa's defender crunched into the back of Laryea's leg. There was minimal contact on the ball.

Laryea went down, and he never got to make his pass.

The referee ruled it a goal kick.

Even after VAR, that was the ruling. No penalty kick was given.

The World Cup Round of 32 game went scoreless to the half because of the non-call. It's hard to see why that was.

Richie Laryea goes down in the box, no penalty awarded to Canada pic.twitter.com/dnY8ZhfxGx

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Why wasn't it a penalty for Canada and Richie Laryea?

Evidently, the referee didn't believe the physical play by the defender was a foul. The VAR must've agreed.

In reality, the tackle stopped Laryea from swinging the ball into a dangerous area.

The flip-side argument is that the contact mostly began because South Africa's defender was running behind Laryea, who started to slow down to pass. And there was a tiny nick on the ball, which may have made the difference.

It certainly wasn't a reckless slide tackle from behind.

If the play had been called a penalty on the field, it likely would've remained one.

It's fair for Canada to be hard done, but it wasn't a "clear and obvious error," and so that's why it stayed put.

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