Antoine Griezmann committed an egregious flop to give France an early lead in the World Cup final

• France took an early lead over Croatia in the World Cup final on an own goal during a free kick.
• The goal would have never happened if not for an egregious flop by Antoine Griezmann.
• Griezmann went to the ground long before contact and sold it perfectly to the ref who was in a bad position to judge the foul.

France took an early lead over Croatia in the World Cup final on an own goal during a free kick, but the goal would have never happened if not for an egregious flop by Antoine Griezmann.

Griezmann took a pass near the box and sensing some pressure from his left and behind, he went to the ground and a foul was called. However, the replay showed that there was no contact between the defender and Griezmann until he was already on the ground.

In this sequence, it is obvious that Griezmann kicks out both legs well before the contact. 

Fox

"It looked like he actually lost his footing," Fox announcer Stuart Holden said. "I'm not even sure he touches him. The contact actually comes when Griezmann is already on the ground ... That's a dive."

One problem was the position of the referee who was behind the defender.

He had to look through the defender to see any contact. 

From that angle, Griezmann sold the flop perfectly.

The referee called the foul and awarded a free kick.

Griezmann's kick eventually found the back of the net off of Croatia's Mario Mandžukić, to give France the early lead.

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