World Cup 2026: France fails in appeal against Olise yellow card,

World Cup 2026: France fails in appeal against Olise yellow card,

France have been unsuccessful in their bid to overturn Michael Olise's yellow card from the game against Paraguay. The Bayern Munich winger was booked after a collision with Matias Galarza in stoppage time during France's thrilling 1-0 round of 16 win in Philadelphia. Galarza fell to the ground after Olise grabbed his shirt during the incident. Olise, who has already provided five assists in the current World Cup, would miss the semi-final against Spain or Belgium if he receives another yellow card if France can win the quarter-final against Morocco on Thursday (9pm BST). "The yellow card remains in place. We were informed by FIFA this morning that it has been upheld," France coach Didier Deschamps said on Wednesday before the game at Boston Stadium. Olise's warning remains in place, while FIFA issued a red card for US striker Folarin Balogun in the tournament, meaning the striker was available for the round of 16 match against Belgium. Balogun was sent off in the game against Bosnia-Herzegovina but controversially played in the 4-1 defeat after US President Donald Trump asked FIFA to review the decision. Bradley Barcola and Manu Kone were also booked for France against Paraguay, while the Paraguayans received no yellow cards from referee Ilgiz Tantashev throughout the game. Paraguay's Gustavo Velazquez tried to damage the penalty spot before Kylian Mbappé converted the decisive penalty, while France defender Dayot Upamecano received an elbow from Gabriel Avalos and Andres Cubas hit Les Bleus midfielder Adrien Rabiot with a rough foul. Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart said the South American team had "gone too far" with some of their actions in the game, while BBC sports commentator Thomas Hitzlsperger said it was "probably the worst refereeing performance I've seen in this tournament". After the game, Mbappé criticized a Paraguayan senator as "vile" and unworthy of her office after she made a series of racist comments about his background and education. Morocco will be without key player Ismael Saibari in the quarter-finals as they look to make up for defeat by France in the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup. Saibari scored goals in each of his group games, including a goal in a 1-1 draw against Brazil, a 1-0 win against Scotland and a 4-2 win against Haiti. The 25-year-old, who moved from PSV Eindhoven to Bayern Munich this summer, also scored the decisive penalty in the last sixteen against the Netherlands. Unfortunately, Saibari had to be substituted after 22 minutes due to a hamstring injury in the game against Canada, which Morocco won 3-0. "He's not ready, but I hope it's not the end of the tournament for him," said Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi.