Fifa rejects France's appeal to remove Michael Olise's yellow before their quarter-final match against Morocco
After a late argument with midfielder Matas Galarza, the warning was issued in the 97th minute of Les Bleus' 1-0 Round of 16 triumph against Paraguay.
The French Football Federation's (FFF) request to have Michael Olise's yellow card revoked has been formally denied by the international football regulatory body, according to coach Didier Deschamps. The Bayern Munich winger is now on a disciplinary tightrope ahead of France's pivotal FIFA World Cup 2026 quarterfinal matchup with Morocco.
"There was no change when it comes to Olise's yellow card. We received FIFA's decision this morning that the yellow card was maintained," Deschamps revealed during his press conference on Wednesday.
After a late argument with midfielder Matas Galarza, the warning was issued in the 97th minute of Les Bleus' 1-0 Round of 16 triumph against Paraguay. FIFA's disciplinary tribunal decided not to change the referee's first on-field ruling, despite video replays clearly showing that Olise just grabbed the Paraguayan's shirt before Galarza collapsed to the ground alleging a face hit.
Earlier in the tournament, the United States successfully reversed a booking under quite different circumstances, setting a dramatic precedent that influenced the FFF's decision to file a formal protest.
During the United States' win against Bosnia and Herzegovina, US attacker Folarin Balogun received a straight red card for a challenge, which came with an automatic one-match suspension.
However, FIFA took the extraordinary step of lifting the ban, allowing Balogun to participate in their subsequent round-of-16 match against Belgium, after significant political pressure, including three private phone conversations from US President Donald Trump to FIFA President Gianni Infantino. UEFA and the Belgian FA strongly condemned the contentious action, accusing FIFA of going over a "red line" in terms of the tournament's competitive integrity.
Officials from the French team have insisted that their plea was wholly unrelated to the US intervention. However, given the unmistakable video evidence in Olise's favour, the FFF surely thought that FIFA's abrupt readiness to re-examine disciplinary mandates indicated there were legitimate administrative reasons
In the end, the governing council demonstrated little desire to give the French delegation the same latitude.
There are serious sports repercussions for Deschamps. Olise is still only one yellow card away from being automatically suspended, which would prevent him from playing against Belgium or Spain in a hypothetical semifinal. He is not the only player in that situation; teammates Bradley Barcola and Manu Kon must proceed with caution against Morocco after the brutal match against Paraguay.
