Olise's Yellow Card Confirmed, Impacting France's World Cup Campaign
Michael Olise continues to lead the 2026 World Cup in assists with five, but France's appeal to overturn his yellow card from their last-16 victory against Paraguay has been unsuccessful.
The Bayern Munich winger received a booking after an altercation with Matias Galarza during stoppage time in a tense match held in Philadelphia, which France won 1-0. The incident involved Olise grabbing Galarza's shirt, causing the Paraguayan player to fall to the ground.
If France advance past Morocco in their quarter-final match scheduled for Thursday at 21:00 BST, Olise will be suspended for the semi-final against Spain or Belgium should he receive another yellow card.
"The yellow card has not changed. We were notified by Fifa this morning, it has been maintained," said France manager Didier Deschamps on Wednesday prior to the game at Boston Stadium.
Despite FIFA's decision to suspend a red card for United States striker Folarin Balogun, allowing him to participate in the last-16 match against Belgium, Olise's yellow card remains in effect.
In the same match against Paraguay, France players Bradley Barcola and Manu Kone were also booked. Paraguay, however, did not receive any yellow cards from referee Ilgiz Tantashev during the game.
The match featured several contentious moments, including Paraguay's Gustavo Velazquez attempting to scuff the penalty spot before Kylian Mbappe successfully converted the penalty that decided the game. France defender Dayot Upamecano was struck in the ribs by an elbow from Gabriel Avalos, and Andres Cubas committed a harsh tackle on Les Bleus midfielder Adrien Rabiot.
Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart criticized Paraguay's conduct, stating the South American team had "gone way too far" with some of their actions during the match. pundit Thomas Hitzlsperger described the referee's performance as "probably the worst referee performance I've seen at this tournament."
Following the match, Mbappe publicly condemned a Paraguayan senator for making racist remarks mocking his origin and education, labeling her comments as "despicable" and unworthy of her position.
Saibari Sidelined for Morocco Ahead of Quarter-Final Clash
Morocco will be without key player Ismael Saibari as they prepare to face France in the quarter-finals, aiming to avenge their semi-final defeat from the 2022 World Cup.
Saibari has been instrumental for Morocco, scoring in each of their group stage matches: a 1-1 draw against Brazil, a 1-0 win over Scotland, and a 4-2 victory against Haiti. The 25-year-old, who transferred from PSV Eindhoven to Bayern Munich this summer, also scored the decisive penalty in Morocco's last-32 win against the Netherlands.
However, Saibari sustained a hamstring injury during Morocco's 3-0 victory over co-host Canada in the last 16, forcing him off the field after 22 minutes.
"He's not ready but I hope it's not the end of the tournament for him," said Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi.
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