- France beat Morocco 2-0 in World Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
- Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani scored the goals for Les Bleus.
- Morocco’s Sofiane Boufal was given a yellow card instead of a penalty.
Morocco’s football federation has lodged a complaint with FIFA criticizing the referee of the World Cup semi-final against France on Wednesday.
“The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) strongly protested against the arbitration of the Morocco-France match officiated by Mr. Cesar Arturo Ramos”, according to the official statement.
The FRMF claims it has written a letter to FIFA citing two unambiguous penalties. The statement continues:
“The FRMF also expressed its great astonishment that the Video Assistance to Arbitration (VAR) system did not react to these situations.”
The football federation has pledged to fight to protect the rights of the National Selections, condemning the judgments made during the World Cup semi-final, and fighting for fair play.
Stats Perform says that France beat Morocco 2-0 on Wednesday, with goals from Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani putting France in the World Cup final for the second straight year.
But there were a few controversial calls made during the game. Morocco’s players were upset when winger Sofiane Boufal ran into Hernandez in the France box.
The referee decided to give Les Bleus a free kick instead of a penalty for Morocco. Boufal was then given a yellow card, which made Walid Regragui’s team very angry.
After Ramos again declined to award a penalty kick or even request a VAR review after substitute Selim Amallah was brought down in the France penalty area while waiting for a free kick delivery, France ultimately scored a goal off the ensuing corner kick.
“The FMRF has written to the relevant body to review the refereeing decisions that deprived the Moroccan team of two penalties that were indisputable in the view of several refereeing specialists … The FMRF was equally astonished that the video assistant referee (VAR) did not react to these situations.”
While playing in Qatar, Morocco created history by being the first African team to get to the World Cup semifinals.
Although the Atlas Lions’ semi-final loss was devastating, they still have a shot at redemption in Saturday’s third-place play-off against Croatia.
Defenseman Achraf Hakimi, who started at right back, remained upbeat despite the loss to France, tweeting:
“We gave it all. The dream of a team, of a whole country, is over, but we have to be proud of what we have done. We fought until the last second and we leave with our heads held high.”
“We will continue to try and give our all for this nation. Thanks to all Moroccans for your support.”
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