Jerome Damon: Ex-FIFA Ref and VAR Expert Gives Verdict on Penalty Calls In SA vs Egypt Tie

• Jerome Damon has shared his thoughts on the penalty calls during South Africa's defeat against Egypt at AFCON 2025
• Bafana Bafana won their first match in the competition, but were denied the opportunity to retain their unbeaten run when they faced the Pharaohs
• The former FIFA referee and VAR expert shared a detailed explanation concerning the match officials' decisions against Bafana Bafana

Bafana Bafana lost 1–0 to Egypt in their second group match of the 2025 AFCON tournament, following a controversial penalty decision and a late handball claim. The match was held on Friday, 26 December 2025, at the Adrar Stadium in Agadir.

Former FIFA referee and VAR expert Jerome Damon has outlined the reasoning behind his view that the match officials handled key decisions correctly in Bafana Bafana’s loss to Egypt. Damon expressed his view in a post-match analysis, stating that the referee's decisions aligned with VAR protocol.

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South Africa were beaten after the Pharaohs were awarded a first-half penalty following a VAR intervention, with Khuliso Mudau ruled to have fouled Mohamed Salah. Salah converted from the spot to score the only goal of the match.

That spot-kick proved decisive, even though Egypt were reduced to 10 players for a large portion of the contest after Mohamed Hany was sent off shortly before half-time.

Another moment stirred debate towards the end of the game when an Egyptian player appeared to handle the ball on a shot from Teboho Mokoena, but no VAR review followed and play continued.

Damon on penalty calls in SA vs Egypt

Amid growing debate, Damon took to his social media to explain the full context of the penalty issue that involved both Bafana Bafana and Egypt in the match.

“The referee initially spotted a handball outside the penalty area and blew the whistle for a foul. VAR first reviewed the location of the contact and then saw it occurred inside the penalty area. Therefore, if it was a handball, it could result in a penalty kick,” he posted online.

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“VAR’s second review focused on whether it was a handball. The defender was sliding toward the ball, and it struck the supporting arm as it went down to the ground. Was this a natural outcome of the slide? Yes. Was the action intentional? No. Consequently, VAR advised the on-field referee that it might not be a penalty.

“The referee reviewed the incident again and agreed: the handball was unintentional and did not make the body unnaturally bigger. Decision: no foul. Play restarted with a drop ball.

“In a separate incident, a player appeared to strike an opponent in the face without attempting to play the ball. A penalty and yellow card were correctly awarded.”

Damon’s insights have helped clarify the decisions made during the high-stakes encounter, though debate among supporters continues across social media platforms.

Here is what fans are saying on social media concerning Damon's submission about the two penalty incident in Bafana Bafana's defeat against Egypt.

Stanley Laka said:

"Strange reason. Could we have scored a goal with our attacking falling and the ball hit his supporting hand and trickled over the line. The goal would have been disallowed for handball."

Bafanas Godrich Wasemzini shared:

"Many referees would give a penalty for that; sometimes, referees' decisions go against you, depending on who you are playing with."

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B Msimang wrote:

"They want to jump over using penalty, Broos and his Pirates boys are very spoilt, after using weak sides to build an unbeaten record today they met the real team, and crying like frogs in the dam😄😀🤣."

Robbie Pif Rawbet added:

"These penalties will be a scapegoat for the Penalty given to Egypt. A foul is a foul, but do you guys know, yes, it can be a foul, but something has to be checked first before a card or Penalty Given. Besides the player of Egypt already having a yellow for the second foul he committed, some referees would give a red card straight away based on the opponent coming from behind and did not even see the ball, so intentions, Position where it was committed or whether it was a dangerous attack or what and why the player committed a foul. In this case, Salah was defending not even close to the ball to the point he couldn't even score if let him get to that ball."

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VAR controversy: Bafana legends criticise referee after denied late penalty against Egypt

Bafana legends blast ref on VAR calls

Briefly News also reported that two Bafana Bafana legends hit out at the referee in charge of South Africa's match against Egypt at the ongoing 2025 AFCON in Morocco.

The Pharaohs were awarded a controversial penalty while Bafana Bafana were denied theirs very late in the match.

Proofreading by Roxanne Dos Ramos, copy editor at Briefly.co.za.

Source: Briefly News