Should Scotland have had two penalties and been playing against 10 men in defeat to Morocco?

Should Scotland have had two penalties and been playing against 10 men in defeat to Morocco? The Tartan Army left frustrated by decisions.

Ismael Saibari put Morocco ahead after just 70 seconds, then saw another chance come back off the bar.

Scotland were twice denied penalties in the second half, after John McGinn and Scott McTominay had gone down in separate incidents.

Referee Ilgiz Tantashev let several decisions go, with John McGinn saying post-match he was left unimpressed by the official’s consistency.

Scotland need a point against Brazil on Wednesday to give them their first ever knockout stage place.

Should Scotland have been awarded a penalty here…? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/N0aBouLkrO

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 19, 2026

THAT John McGinn tackle from ground level 🧐

Scotland wanted a penalty; VAR did not intervene, but should it have? pic.twitter.com/hR8seoipao

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 19, 2026

Scotland’s Ryan Christie told BBC Scotland, as per BBC Sport’s live blog: “Had we played another five minutes, we might just have had them.

“It’s frustrating. The start to the game wasn’t exactly how we planned it. It would have been easy to chase the game and get a bit disjointed. But we limited them to very little second half and started to play our football.

“It just wasn’t to be.

“I’ve thought the one on McGinn could have been a penalty, I had a good view of that. There wasn’t many fouls getting given out there, to be honest.

“We need to take confidence. The immediate feeling is frustration and disappointment. This group of boys will bounce back, we’re so together.

Scotland head coach Steve Clarke to BBC Radio Scotland: “I thought we were good. Terrible start but the reaction to that was good. We had to dig in for five or 10 minutes just to get our feet in the game.

“Once we were in the game, we showed we could cause them problems. The disappointment would be that we didn’t create the one clear cut chance that would have got us the point.

“This group of players, this squad, have shown that [resilience] in abundance over the years. They’re in there, their flat, disappointed, but we’ve got another chance.

“Everybody is talking about the Scott McTominay [penalty incident]. I actually looked at the John McGinn one, which was 50-50. Some referees would give it, some don’t. Sometimes VAR will get involved.

“I was a little bit disappointed in the last man foul [from Diop on Adams]. For me, Che might be clear through on goal. On another day, you might get those decisions.

“This team are ready to go again. We’re here to try and do what no Scottish team has done before. We gave it everything tonight, and we’ll try and do it again.”

Scotland’s Lyndon Dykes said to BBC Scotland: “We’re disappointed because we didn’t win the game but there was some positives at the end there. We showed good character, and we’ve still got more one game.

“We were putting on a lot of pressure, being braver and getting bodies higher up the pitch. We were just unfortunate not to get that clear cut chance. We have to perform against Brazil now, but I believe in my team and the manager.”

Scotland’s Che Adams to BBC Scotland: “Towards the end we were pushing for the equaliser. We didn’t manage to get there but it was a proud performance, let down by the early goal which was a sucker punch.

“We reacted well and we were unlucky not to get the goal in the end.

“We just have to believe. We put in a good performance there towards the end. There’s confidence there to build on and that’s what the boys are thinking about.”

Scotland’s John McGinn to BBC Sport: “We feel disappointed, feel as if we can bring more to the game, bring our qualities.

“We could have been helped at times by the ref with 50-50 challenges, decisions. No problem with allowing things to flow but it has to be consistent across both teams.

“Sometimes that goes for you. If we got a couple of those penalty decisions for us, I don’t think VAR intervenes.

“Out the corner of my eye, I could see [the Morocco defender] charging in. I got first contact to the ball and he took me out. It’s a penalty kick for me. Sometimes you get them, sometimes you don’t. If it was given on the field, no chance it’s overturned.

“Morocco have got away with one there. But we need to be better and create chances from open play, not rely on referee’s decisions.