France coach Didier Deschamps played down the significance of the appointment of Argentine officials for Thursday’s World Cup quarter-final against Morocco.
The rivalry between the two countries has become fierce since Argentina beat France in the 2022 final, and a repeat remains possible.
But Deschamps said he had no problem with Facundo Tello being named for the game, along with two Argentine assistants, a substitute and a fourth official.
Didier Deschamps led France to World Cup triumph in 2018. Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images
“We have to deal with this. I trust the judges. Our opponent is Morocco, not the judge,” Deschamps said.
Backup goalkeeper Robin Risser also supported the referees.
“There has been some animosity for a few years since the last final (between France and Argentina), but that’s part of the game,” Risser said. “If these judges are here, it’s because they are up to the level of the competition.”
Refereeing at the tournament has come under scrutiny this summer, with French official Francois Letexier’s performance in the round of 16 match between Argentina and Egypt being criticized by the North African team.
Deschamps couldn’t resist making a jab at these critics, adding: “Let’s hope our (officials) are as good as Monsieur Letexier was.”
– FIFA has rejected France’s appeal against Michael Olise’s yellow card.
– 2026 World Cup Golden Boot tracker: will Messi, Mbappe or anyone else score more goals?
– World Cup quarterfinals: how we got here, forecasts, chances
Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi also played down the influence of the referees.
“In terms of the referees for tomorrow’s game, we are talking about a very experienced referee,” he said at a pre-match press conference on Wednesday. “This is what we want. We need experienced referees for such matches. So we are very calm.”
“We had a Dutch referee before the Netherlands game and he did very well. So that’s not what we’re talking about because we know they’re just trying their best. The referee we’ll have against France, he’s not as quick to give warnings and that may play a role, but I wouldn’t say anything against the quality of the referees.”
The game is a rematch of the 2022 semi-final when Morocco became the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi-final but their run ended there as France won 2-0.
But Wahbi doesn’t think they need to take revenge for this defeat.
“Whoever the opponent is, our goal remains the same: to reach the semi-finals. So we will focus on ourselves,” he said. “There is no revenge. We just want to continue our journey.”
ESPN’s Ed Dove and Pennsylvania contributed to this report.