FIFA upholds Olise's yellow card despite FFF appeal ahead of Morocco clash

FIFA rejected on Wednesday the French Football Federation’s appeal to overturn the yellow card given to Michael Olise during the Round of 16 match against Paraguay. The player therefore enters the quarter-final against Morocco on Thursday evening under threat of automatic suspension.

“The yellow card for Michael, that hasn’t changed… We received this morning FIFA’s decision that the card was upheld,” said manager Didier Deschamps in a press conference. Olise is not the only France player in this situation: Manu Koné and Bradley Barcola are also one caution away from a suspension that would rule them out of a potential semi-final.

The FFF had a solid argument. The caution in question had been given to Olise following a dive by Paraguayan Matias Galarza — the same player who, earlier in the match, had thrown a punch at Kylian Mbappé without being sent off. Referee Tantashev, already criticized for his management of the match, had shown the yellow card to France’s playmaker in a decision deemed unfair by the French staff.

FIFA’s disciplinary commission’s decision contrasts with the treatment given three days earlier to American striker Folarin Balogun. Sent off against Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Round of 16, the AS Monaco forward had his outright suspension commuted to a suspended sentence, allowing him to play in the United States’ Round of 16 tie against Belgium. This intervention, described as informal but acknowledged, had raised questions about equal treatment between nations.

Against Morocco, Deschamps will therefore have to manage the risk with Olise, one of his most decisive players in this 2026 World Cup. A second yellow card would rule him out of the semi-finals if France qualifies.