Beseiged referees have added to drama of World Cup’s knockout stage

FOXBOROUGH – Refereeing controversy has marked this World Cup since the opening game, when three red cards were issued in Mexico’s 2-0 win over South Africa.

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The situation has intensified since. So, it wasn’t surprising France coach Didier Deschamps seemed to be sending an officiating-related message before Les Bleus meet Morocco in the quarterfinals Thursday. The question, though, is what Deschamps implied when referring to both the match’s designated referee, Facundo Tello, and French referee François Letexier, who worked Argentina’s 3-2 victory over Egypt in the Round of 16 Tuesday.

“You could ask questions, certainly,” Deschamps said of officiating Wednesday. “We just hope [Tello] and his crew will be as good as Letexier and his. Some refereeing decisions lead to discussions. But our opponent is Morocco, not the referee. We want the referee to apply fairly the laws of the game.”

Egypt apparently disagreed with Deschamps’ evaluation, making a formal complaint to FIFA regarding Letexier, who handed out six stoppage time cautions to the Pharaohs, plus a red card to goalkeeper coach Saafan El-Sagheer. Coach Hossam Hassan accused officials of racism and, also, favoring Lionel Messi and Argentina. The Egyptians were particularly upset when a goal, converted after a rapid, length-of-the-field buildup, was disallowed following a VAR review.

Unfortunately for Tello, similar national makeups enter into Thursday’s contest. Tello and his assistants are Argentinian, working a game involving a North African team, and France. As impartial as they might be, any call they make might risks being interpreted as biased.

“A very experienced referee, and that is what we want for these type of matches,” Morocco coach Mohamed Oahbi said. “Very calm. In general, I would say we have had good referees.”

Morocco already enters the match feeling it was wronged. In 2022,

The Atlas Lions became the first Africans to reach the semifinals, a 2-0 loss to France in Qatar. No surprise, that game was marked by a disputed non-call, Morocco believing Mexican referee César Ramos failed to award them a penalty kick.

“In all games, there are some decisions that lead to discussions,” Deschamps said of the 2022 game. “It depends on which side you are on. It might be whistled, or not. But let’s not go back in time, what happened or did not happen. There is no revenge in football. We cannot change it, we cannot go back in time. Let’s hope tomorrow there are fewer mistakes on both sides.”

France is favored to capture the World Cup for the third time, after improving to 5-0-0 with a 1-0 victory over Paraguay. But Morocco’s ambitions have grown under Ouahbi, who replaced Walid Regragui as coach in March.

“Morocco’s profile is not Paraguay’s,” Deschamps said. “They won the Coupe D’Afrique and they are not here to play, they’re here to win. They like to have the ball, they like to score goals. We have to be ready and performing at our best. They changed coaches, and I don’t know if they progressed, but they are strong, they played well in the AFCON [African Nations Cup].

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“They have great players and both teams really know each other at the individual level, because they play at the same clubs. There has been evolution, yes, progression, as a group. There have been a few adjustments compared to four years ago. When you change head coaches, you also bring a few changes to the team’s style of play.”

Ouahbi was expected to jump-start the offense, but Morocco has again been depending on the back line and goalkeeping of Yassine Bounou. France-born central defender Issa Diop leads the defense, and scored the equalizer in a 1-1 tie with The Netherlands, Morocco winning on penalties in the Round of 32. Ismael Saibari (leg) scored three goals in four games, but was injured in a 3-0 victory over Canada, replaced by Soufiane Rahimi.

“You don’t reach the semifinals if you don’t have an excellent team,” Deschamps said. “The more you progress, the better the opposition. The key is we have to be efficient. Both teams have their strengths.”

Deschamps said France’s appeal of a Michael Olise yellow card was denied and the condition of midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni (thigh) had not been determined.

Asked about Kylian Mbappé’s being singled out by a Paraguayan politician, who he accused of racism, Deschamps replied in Spanish: “[Mbappé] is a very strong chico. He’s focused.

“Tomorrow will be a hard game, two talented teams. All the games, we’ve been ready for it. The idea is to reach 100 percent efficiency. We are efficient but we could have done better. It is important to be efficient, but in football you might create six chances and score one or two goals, or get two chances and score twice.”

Meanwhile, Deschamps continues to display his Bostonian bona fides, complaining about traffic and weather.

“It was quite a journey to come here,” Deschamps said of the drive from the Four Seasons Hotel.

You think it’s steamy now, Deschamps added, wait until tomorrow. But, at least, “it won’t be as hot as last game.”

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