FIFA sanctions Deschamps after his criticism of France-Spain referee

FIFA rebuked Didier Deschamps after the French manager openly criticized Salvadoran referee Iván Barton during his post-match press conference following France’s 2-0 defeat to Spain in the 2026 World Cup semi-final. Pierluigi Collina, the world governing body’s head of refereeing, publicly described Barton as a “world-class” referee.

Deschamps’ comments sparked outrage in El Salvador, where Barton’s appointment to a World Cup semi-final was seen as a historic milestone for Central American football. For the local press, the French manager’s remarks were a direct attack on national pride.

“Iván Barton gives the world a lesson in the art of refereeing,” El Diario de Hoy headlined, praising “a sober, discreet style but of remarkable accuracy and olympian calm”. The newspaper also interpreted the French criticism as an attempt at “psychological pressure” based on “the old tactic of systematic complaints”, to which Barton had allegedly offered total resistance.

Diario El Mundo went further by technically analyzing the referee’s performance. The penalty awarded against France — following Lucas Digne’s foul on Lamine Yamal — was examined by several local consultants, who concluded that the decision reflected a strict application of the rules. Mexican football legend Hugo Sánchez, whose analysis was widely circulated in El Salvador, shared this assessment.

Deschamps’ attitude was also branded as “sore loser” behavior by parts of the Salvadoran press, who saw it as an attempt to mask Spain’s undisputed technical superiority on the pitch. “The fact that you denigrate a Salvadoran referee seems completely unacceptable to me. It’s odious, to the point that you must offer a public apology,” Hugo Sánchez notably said, his comments widely repeated.

FIFA’s rare public stance in this type of context was welcomed as official validation in El Salvador and left Deschamps in a difficult position following a tournament that France exited without reaching the final.