The France team failed in their effort to rescind the yellow card for Michael Olise after FIFA officially rejected the appeal from the French Football Federation (FFF), manager Didier Deschamps confirmed in a press conference on July 8.
Olise had to receive a yellow card in the 1-0 victory over Paraguay in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup following a collision with Matias Galarza. The Paraguayan midfielder fell down holding his face, even though replays showed that the French player seemed to only hold the opponent’s shirt.
The FFF believed they had enough grounds to appeal, especially after FIFA caused controversy with the decision to temporarily suspend the ban for Folarin Balogun of the US team under Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, allowing this forward to continue playing in the round of 16.
However, FIFA rejected the France team’s request. “There is not any change regarding Olise’s yellow card. This morning we received notification from FIFA that the yellow card is still upheld,” Deschamps said.
That means Michael Olise will enter the quarterfinal match against Morocco at risk of being suspended for the semifinals if he receives 1 more yellow card.
Alongside the information about Olise, Deschamps also updated the squad situation before the match taking place in Boston. Midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni has made positive progress and is highly likely to return to training.
“I do not have full information yet because I had to leave the team early to come here. He feels better. This is the only case we need to monitor. Tchouameni will probably participate in today’s training session, but I will evaluate further,” the French strategist shared.
Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe was confirmed to be completely fit physically and mentally to take the pitch, despite recent controversies related to the war of words with Paraguayan female Senator Celeste Amarilla on social media.
The France team will clash with Morocco in the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Cup in a rematch of the 2022 World Cup semifinal match.
