Mondial-2026: après France-Paraguay, l'arbitre au coeur des débats
Having overcome a very physical Paraguayan side (1-0), the French team qualified for the World Cup quarterfinals on Saturday. But it is above all the leniency of the Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev, deemed permissive towards the numerous unsportsmanlike acts of the South Americans, that is stirring up debate on Sunday.
In a disjointed match, marked by a very tense atmosphere in Philadelphia, Les Bleus escaped the Paraguayan trap thanks to a penalty from Kylian Mbappé (70th minute), obtained thanks to a foul committed on Désiré Doué.
One of the 13 whistled by Mr. Tantashev in favor of the French: a meager number considering how many unsportsmanlike acts and bad gestures the Paraguayans committed throughout the game, from systematic pushes on Michael Olise after he passed the ball, to elbows aimed at Kylian Mbappé, Jules Koundé and Dayot Upamecano.
"I've never played a match like this, with so many hits, so many dirty hits, so many pushes in the back. It was complicated, but we won," Bradley Barcola said in the mixed zone after the match.
The Uzbek referee, however, did not issue any warnings to the South American players, whereas the French leave with three cards and as many key players (Barcola, Michael Olise and Manu Koné) risking a suspension in the semi-final if they receive another yellow card against Morocco in the quarter-final.
- "zero yellow cards" -
"I have nothing to say about the refereeing. You saw for yourselves, there were 30, 40 fouls, and zero yellow cards," lamented Rayan Cherki, who entered an electrifying end to the match where the Paraguayans played as much with their hands as with their feet.
"I don't understand how the Paraguayans got away without a card. I think the referee wasn't up to the task," former international referee Bruno Derrien told AFP, praising the French players' composure in the face of their opponents' "dirty little blows" which could have provoked a reaction from them and led to "penalties, or even expulsions."
"All the blows I took, I shouldn't have responded, I shouldn't have gotten into that game," analyzed Barcola, who was booked in the 19th minute of the game.
"I would have received four red cards in that match," admitted former Swedish star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic on the Fox Sports set.
The international press, not mincing words in its criticism of the football played by the Albirroja players, was equally harsh on the referee. RTBF focused on "Ilgiz Tantashev's cataclysmic performance," while the Spanish newspaper AS portrayed "an Uzbek referee who confused tolerance with inaction."
Although the newspaper L'Equipe gave him a score of 1/10 "without misplaced chauvinism", the Paraguayan press came to his defense, with ABC mentioning "a correct and sober performance" from the Uzbek official.
"He let the game unfold, showed balanced judgment throughout the match and managed the game smoothly," the South American newspaper continued.
- "Far too permissive" -
Aged 42 and referee of the last Asian Champions League final, Mr. Tantashev is participating in his first World Cup, after having officiated at the 2024 Olympics, where he had already struggled to control a heated end to the match between France and Argentina.
Before this France-Paraguay match, he had already refereed two matches of the 2026 World Cup, including the clash between Morocco and Scotland (1-0), where the Tartan Army had already denounced his excessive leniency.
"Letting the game play is somewhat the philosophy of this World Cup. But within acceptable limits, as long as the game does not degenerate," analyzed Bruno Derrien.
But Mr. Tantashev "was far too permissive. You can't let things get out of hand when you feel the atmosphere is becoming toxic on the pitch. You have to sanction," said the man who officiated in Ligue 1 and the European Cup in the early 2000s.
With the exception of a tackle by Lionel Messi against Algeria, which could have warranted a red card, and the disallowed goal for Croatia for offside after a hair deflection detected by sensors in the ball, "there haven't been many refereeing stories" in this World Cup, observed Mr. Derrien.
"The overall feeling is that, with a philosophy of letting the game flow, the refereeing is up to the task," he concluded. This should reassure the French team before they continue their quest for a third star.
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