France’s manager lashes out at referees after World Cup exit to Spain in final tournament in-charge

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Didier Deschamps’ iconic run as the manager of the French national team has come to an end without a third-straight World Cup final appearance.

Spain expertly dispatched France 2-0 in the semi-final to end France’s hopes of a second World Cup title in three editions.

Manager Didier Deschamps will coach his final game for the national team in the third-place clash, but the loss to Spain led to a less-than-gracious end for him atop world football.

Didier Deschamps questions referee acumen after France’s World Cup loss

In his post-match press conference, Deschamps questioned the acumen of referee Iván Barton from El Salvador, highlighting a cascading impact of disadvantageous calls holding France back.

“I’ll ask a question, and I’m not going to answer it: Does the referee have the level to referee a World Cup semi-final? […] It’s not because we lost today that I’m saying this. There were quite a few situations, often to our disadvantage as well.”

“It’s not just about the penalty, it’s an accumulation of things… I have nothing against tonight’s referee, but ask yourself the question and answer it.”

What were the contentious referee decisions in France vs. Spain World Cup semi-final?

The biggest talking point comes from the Lucas Digne foul on Lamine Yamal which led to a 22nd-minute penalty, converted by Mikel Oyarzabal. While there were soft protests, replays showed a clear late foul, which is why Deschamps didn’t seem to center his criticism around this call.

France saw Adrien Rabiot receive a cautionary yellow in the eighth-minute for what was a clear foul, but a harsh penalty for that early in such a meaningful game. Nonetheless, it can’t be argued that it was the incorrect decision to caution Rabiot for standing on Dani Olmo’s foot.

Finally, and the most contentious, was an overturned 43rd-minute free kick for France after Fabian Ruiz fouled Ousmane Dembele. Replays showed minimal contact, but the decision to reverse a free kick call after replays was criticized, as fans and experts were confused if this was a VAR-assisted decision.

Deschamps said the fourth and fifth officials had better decision-making, as they supported the France free kick until Barton overturned it. The Laws of the Game allow this for non-carded offenses and the given foul was marginal, so Barton felt empowered despite it being an odd road to getting there.

Deschamps will coach France for the final time in his 14-year tenure in the third-place game, hoping to secure a medal finish in the last three World Cups.