France manager Didier Deschamps sought to defuse any controversy over the appointment of an Argentine referee to oversee the France–Morocco quarter-final at the 2026 World Cup, expressing his confidence in the officiating crew and stressing that the referee is not an opponent of his side.
FIFA decided to assign the match, scheduled for Thursday in Foxborough, Massachusetts, to Argentine referee Facundo Tello, assisted by two of his compatriots on the lines.
The appointment came just one day after French referee François Letexier handled the Argentina–Egypt quarter-final, which ended in a 3-2 victory for Argentina, amid ongoing sporting tension between France and Argentina dating back to the 2022 World Cup final, which the Cockerels lost to Lionel Messi and his teammates.
Deschamps said at a press conference: "I approach the matter on the basis that the appointment of referees is not in my hands and I cannot change it. I trust the referees, and I hope that Tello and his assistants will deliver the same performance that Letexier and his crew did." He added: "There will always be decisions that may spark controversy depending on which team you support, but our opponent is Morocco, not the referee. I will not consider him an opponent — he is there to apply the laws of the game as well as possible."
Deschamps's remarks also follow the sharp criticism that accompanied the performance of Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev during France's round-of-16 match against Paraguay, which ended in a 1-0 victory for France.