FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – As France prepares for a highly anticipated World Cup quarterfinal showdown against Morocco on Friday, head coach Didier Deschamps confirmed Wednesday that FIFA has turned down the French Football Federation’s appeal to overturn a controversial yellow card issued to star winger Michael Olise during Les Bleus’ narrow 1-0 Round of 16 victory over Paraguay.
“We received FIFA’s official ruling this morning, and Olise’s yellow card stands unchanged,” Deschamps told reporters at France’s pre-match press conference. The upholding of the caution means Olise will be at risk of automatic suspension for a potential semifinal spot if he picks up another booking in Thursday’s do-or-die clash with Morocco.
The yellow card in question was handed to Olise in the 97th minute of the knockout stage match, following a brief altercation with Paraguayan midfielder Matías Galarza. Galarza fell to the turf during the exchange, but television replays offered no clear evidence of aggressive foul play from Olise, only showing the French attacker lightly grabbing Galarza’s jersey before the opposition player tumbled.
France’s appeal gained added context from a recent high-profile precedent: last week, former U.S. President Donald Trump personally placed a phone call to FIFA President Gianni Infantino to lobby against a red card suspension for U.S. striker Folarin Balogun, who was set to miss the Stars and Stripes’ final group stage match against Belgium. FIFA ultimately reversed the suspension and cleared Balogun to play, though the decision did not save the U.S. team, which was eliminated from the tournament with a lopsided 4-1 defeat despite having Balogun in the starting lineup.
Olise’s appeal outcome dominated the opening of Deschamps’ Wednesday press conference, with France bidding to become just the third men’s national team in history to reach three consecutive World Cup semifinals, joining Germany (which recorded three straight semifinal runs from 1982 to 1990, and four consecutive from 2002 to 2014) and Brazil (three straight from 1994 to 2002). Beyond the booking controversy, Deschamps was forced to address a string of off-field issues that have cast a shadow over France’s buildup to the massive quarterfinal tie, including racist remarks targeting superstar Kylian Mbappé, widespread concerns about refereeing, and questions about his own upcoming departure from the national team after the tournament.
The racist comments targeting Mbappé came from a Paraguayan senator following Paraguay’s elimination by France in the Round of 16. Mbappé publicly condemned the remarks earlier this week, and Deschamps said Wednesday that the 35-year-old forward has remained focused on the upcoming match despite the abuse.
“Kylian is fine. He is incredibly strong, both mentally and physically, and he does not want to waste energy looking back on this ugly incident,” Deschamps said. “His full attention is on tomorrow’s game, nothing else.”
The Paraguayan match also drew referee criticism after three French players received cautions, while no Paraguayan players were booked despite the game’s physical, ill-tempered tone. Deschamps, however, played down concerns about officiating bias heading into the Morocco match.
“Officiating is completely out of our control, and I trust the referees to do their jobs,” Deschamps noted. “Some decisions will always spark debate, that’s part of football, and different people will have different views. Our opponent tomorrow is Morocco, not the referee. The referee is there to apply the laws of the game fairly, that is all we ask.”
Deschamps also pushed back on repeated questions about his impending departure from the French national team, a role he has held for 14 years. The 55-year-old won the 2018 World Cup as head coach, and he lifted the trophy as captain of France’s 1998 World Cup-winning squad as a player. He is set to step down after this tournament regardless of the team’s final result.
“Thank you for the questions, but I am not thinking about what comes next right now,” Deschamps said. “Every game at this stage could be my last in charge, and that is exactly how I am approaching it. My entire focus, and the entire focus of our technical staff, is on beating Morocco tomorrow. That is our only goal. There are many possible outcomes in football, but right now we are only thinking about getting the win.”
Ahead of the match, French law enforcement has already mobilized thousands of officers in anticipation of potential post-match unrest no matter the result, underscoring the high stakes of the clash between the two sides, who previously met in the 2022 Qatar World Cup semifinals.