Argentine referee for France-Morocco: Deschamps refuses to feed the controversy
At his press conference, Didier Deschamps struck a calm tone over the all-Argentine officiating crew appointed for France-Morocco, insisting his opponent is Morocco, not the referee.
France
Morocco- 90'Final score: France 2 - 0 Morocco
- 87'Substitution: ↑ M. Gusto / ↓ J. Kounde (France)
- 85'Substitution: ↑ A. Sbai / ↓ C. Talbi (Morocco)
- 77'Substitution: ↑ B. Barcola / ↓ D. Doue (France)
- 77'Substitution: ↑ J. Mateta / ↓ K. Mbappe (France)
- 74'Substitution: ↑ Z. El Ouahdi / ↓ A. Salah-Eddine (Morocco)
- 74'Substitution: ↑ G. Yassine / ↓ B. Diaz (Morocco)
- 71'Substitution: ↑ W. Zaire-Emery / ↓ M. Kone (France)
- 66'⚽ Goal for France (O. Dembele)
- 63'Yellow card: Issa Diop (Morocco)
- 62'Substitution: ↑ S. Rahimi / ↓ B. El Khannouss (Morocco)
- 62'Substitution: ↑ S. Amrabat / ↓ A. Bouaddi (Morocco)
- 60'⚽ Goal for France (K. Mbappe)
- 45'Half-time
- 28'Penalty missed: Kylian Mbappé (France)
- 0'Kick-off
Asked at his Wednesday, July 8 press conference in Foxborough about the all-Argentine officiating crew, led by Facundo Tello, appointed for the France-Morocco quarter-final, Didier Deschamps responded calmly.
"I am not going to consider the referee as an adversary, quite the contrary. He is there to apply the rules of football with the most fairness possible," the French coach said.
He added: "You can question it, but I don't pay attention to it. I hope the referee will be as good as Mr. Letexier and his assistants were in another match," referring to the French referee who officiated the Argentina-Egypt match. He concluded: "My opponent is Morocco, not the referee."
The comments come after controversy surrounding the appointment of this fully Argentine officiating crew, but Deschamps chose not to engage in the debate, instead refocusing attention on the sporting challenge awaiting his side against the Atlas Lions.
