"Lester vs. Chelsea: English referee Shadykhanov made the right call by not awarding a penalty, while Ivanov correctly chose not to intervene."

In the 84th minute of the match in the 12th round of the English Championship between Leicester and Chelsea (1:2), referee Andy Madley correctly did not award a penalty against the visitors after a collision in their penalty area involving Stephy Mavididi and Wesley Fofana. The Leicester forward dribbled the ball past the defender and, after his foot hit Fofana's leg, he fell.

Photo Screenshot from the broadcast

Photo Screenshot from the broadcast

The referee found no grounds to penalize Fofana with a penalty kick, and video assistants Paul Tierney and Dan Cook also saw no reason to intervene. Madley's decision was upheld.

In contrast, during the Russian Championship match of the 16th round between Krylia Sovetov and Akhmat (2:1), a penalty was awarded in a similar situation. In the 63rd minute, referee Pavel Shadykhanov initially correctly did not point to the penalty mark in the Samara team's penalty area. However, after intervention from video assistants Sergey Ivanov and Sergey Tsygankov, the referee changed his decision and ultimately penalized the home team with a penalty.

Photo Screenshot from the broadcast

In that incident, Lechi Sadulaev flicked the ball over Alois Oroz (which is perhaps the main difference from Mavididi), changed his direction, and collided his foot with the opponent's leg. The Samara player made no movements towards the Akhmat player, nor did he attempt to knock him down or hold him (similar to Fofana's actions regarding Mavididi). So what exactly was his foul?