Before France-Morocco, Atlas Lions Resurrect Ghost Penalties Row from 2022

Hours before the quarter-final against France, Morocco chose to reopen an old wound: the refereeing of the 2022 World Cup semi-final in Qatar, which the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) had officially contested after the Atlas Lions’ defeat.

The warning came from an assistant to Mohamed Ouahbi, Morocco’s head coach. « I hope the referees will be up to the task », he said, a brief formula laden with innuendo for anyone who remembers the evening of December 14, 2022 at Al Bayt.

That night, Mexican referee Cesar Ramos oversaw a match that the FRMF subsequently described as scandalous. In a letter to the relevant authorities, the federation denounced « two indisputable penalties » not awarded to its players, « in the opinion of several refereeing specialists ».

The first incident involved Sofiane Boufal: cautioned in the first half for obstruction on Theo Hernandez in the French penalty area, the Moroccans believed instead that he was the victim of a foul warranting a penalty. The second concerned Aurélien Tchouameni, accused of wrapping his arms around Youssef En-Nesyri in the penalty area without the referee or VAR intervening.

The FRMF said it was « strongly » opposed to Ramos’s performance and expressed its surprise that « the Video Assistant Refereeing system did not react to these situations ». It concluded by promising to « spare no effort to defend and preserve the rights of national teams by promoting fairness in refereeing ».

Four years later, this matter resurfaces at a timely moment, on the eve of a new clash between the two nations. Morocco says it is confident despite the fine form shown by the Blues since the start of the competition, but the message sent to the match officials is crystal clear.