FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — France coach Didier Deschamps says that its appeal of star Michael Olise’s controversial World Cup yellow card during its Round of 16 win over Paraguay was denied by FIFA on Wednesday.
“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 said.
It means that if Olise were to receive another yellow card during France’s quarterfinal matchup
with Morocco on Thursday, it would result in a suspension for a potential semifinal game.
The country’s federation appealed the infraction that was issued to Olise in the 97th minute of its 1-0 win over Paraguay following his altercation with Matías Galarza.
Galarza went to the ground during a skirmish between the two players, though video replays only seemed to reveal Olise grasping the Paraguayan’s jersey before he toppled to the grass.
The appeal came after U.S. President Donald Trump made a phone call last week to FIFA head Gianni Infantino to make the case that U.S. striker Folarin Balogun should not have been suspended for Monday’s matchup with Belgium because of a red card in a game last week. FIFA lifted the suspension and cleared Balogun to play.
The decision ultimately didn’t help the U.S. team, which was eliminated from the World Cup with a 4-1 loss to Belgium with Balogun in the lineup.
Olise’s appeal status was one of the first questions Deschamps was asked Wednesday as his team prepares for its fourth straight World Cup quarterfinals appearance. With a victory, France would remain on track to advance to become only the third nation to reach the semifinals in three successive tournaments, joining Germany (four from 2002 to 2014 and three from 1982 to 1990) and Brazil (three from 1994 to 2002).
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