[Saba Sports News] According to French media reports, France beat Norway 4-1 and secured top spot in Group I to qualify impressively for the 32-team stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. However, French captain Kylian Mbappé sparked widespread public debate by handing his captain’s armband to the referee during the match. The controversial incident unfolded when Mbappé was substituted off. As he headed towards the touchline, the French forward chose to pass the captain’s armband to referee Michael Oliver, who then handed it over to Aurélien Tchouaméni, instead of giving it directly to his teammate himself. Nevertheless, this move was actually made out of consideration for the current substitution rules. Under the regulations, players may face sanctions if they take more than 10 seconds to leave the pitch. Had Mbappé handed the armband over in person, he would have risked picking up a yellow card, which could even leave France temporarily down to ten men.
The editor believes that the enforcement of this rule goes too far and overcorrects the problem. Traditionally, the captain would simply pass the armband directly to the replacement captain without involving anyone else, let alone the match referee.