Deschamps unfazed by Argentine refs for France-Morocco clash
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- Didier Deschamps downplayed the appointment of Argentine referee Facundo Tello — along with two Argentine assistants, a reserve assistant, and a fourth official — for France's World Cup quarterfinal against Morocco on Thursday.
- Deschamps drew a line at the Argentina-France rivalry stemming from the 2022 final: "We have to deal with it. I trust the referees. Our opponent is Morocco, not the referee."
- Robin Risser, France's backup goalkeeper, acknowledged "a certain bitterness" since the 2022 final but backed the officials as "up to the level of the competition."
- Deschamps took a jab at Egypt, whose team criticized French official Francois Letexier's display in Argentina's round-of-16 win, saying he hopes French officials perform "as good as Monsieur Letexier was."
- Mohamed Ouahbi, Morocco's coach, called Tello "a very experienced referee," noting his team was also comfortable with their previous Dutch referee and is "very calm" about the assignment.
- The match is a rematch of the 2022 semifinal, which France won 2-0 to end Morocco's historic run as the first African nation to reach a World Cup semifinal.
- Ouahbi rejected a revenge framing: "There is no revenge. We only want to continue our journey" toward the semifinals.
Why it matters: Refereeing has become a flashpoint at this tournament, with Egypt already publicly criticizing French official Francois Letexier after their round-of-16 loss to Argentina. Both coaches' preemptive defenses suggest they expect the all-Argentine crew's every call to be filtered through the 2022 final lens — especially with a potential France-Argentina semifinal rematch looming for the winner.
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