After polemic in the match between Argentina and Egypt, Didier Deschamps commented on the referee for their match against Morocco. While Egypt argued they had doubts about the referee before their match, it was Argentina that had concerns as Francois Letexier of France was assigned to officiate, with France being a direct rival. For the semifinal against Morocco, the officiating crew will be led by Argentina’s Facundo Tello, which does not appear to be a concern for Didier Deschamps based on his comments.
Deschamps said: “You can ask yourselves questions, but I won’t pay any attention to them. I hope the referee is just as good as Mr. Letexier and his assistants were in the match. My opponent is Morocco, not the referee. On the contrary, he’s there to enforce the rules of the game as fairly as possible.”
When everything pointed toward Argentina’s elimination after falling behind 2-0 against Egypt, Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernandez scored in a 14-minute span to complete a 3-2 comeback. However, much of the discussion after the match centered on referee Letexier.
Deschamps on Morocco
That wasn’t the only thing Deschamps said before the semifinal: “In every match there are situations that can go one way or the other. The complaints depend on which side you’re on. In some situations, a foul could have been called. This isn’t about revenge, what has already happened can’t be changed. We hope there are as few mistakes as possible from both sides.”
Egypt complained about the referee after the match (Buda Mendes/Getty Images)
While that may be the main topic of discussion, France still has an important semifinal against a tough Morocco side, which Deschamps said is very different from Paraguay.
Deschamps said: “As for the match, Morocco are not the same team as Paraguay. We played against Morocco four years ago, and they reached the Africa Cup of Nations final. They have very good players. They’re a team that likes to keep possession and attack. They have great quality.”
Michael Olise’s yellow card
The controversy surrounding Folarin Balogun’s rescinded red card gave France hope of appealing Michael Olise’s yellow card, which he received against Paraguay during an altercation. Even if there were no clear grounds for it to be overturned, the Balogun decision raised the possibility.
The French Football Federation submitted an appeal because another yellow card would rule Olise out of the final if France defeats Morocco. Deschamps confirmed that FIFA rejected the request: “The situation with the yellow card hasn’t changed. We received a notification from FIFA this morning.”