France appeal Olise yellow card as FIFA faces fresh World Cup referee controversy

The French Football Federation has formally appealed Michael Olise’s yellow card from France’s World Cup group-stage match against Paraguay, according to ESPN, as FIFA faces mounting pressure over its handling of controversial refereeing decisions at the tournament.

Olise was booked following an altercation with Matias Galarza, who was seen holding his face after the incident. However, replays indicated the Bayern Munich winger had only grabbed his opponent’s shirt. While Olise avoided a red card, the caution carries significant consequences: a second booking in France’s quarter-final against Morocco would rule him out of a potential semi-final.

France’s decision to appeal was directly influenced by FIFA’s earlier move to suspend Folarin Balogun’s red card for a year, allowing the USA striker to feature in their round-of-16 clash against Belgium. That intervention drew fierce criticism from multiple parties. Bosnia and Herzegovina, against whom Balogun was originally dismissed, labelled the U-turn “disgraceful”, while Belgium released several angry statements in the lead-up to the tie. The USA ultimately lost that match 4-1.

U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed he had spoken with FIFA president Gianni Infantino about reversing Balogun’s red card. Infantino subsequently stated the matter would be reviewed by an independent commission.

England manager Thomas Tuchel also entered the debate, acknowledging that Balogun’s original dismissal was harsh but expressing confusion over the process by which it was overturned. Tuchel went further, suggesting that yellow cards shown to Olise and England midfielder Declan Rice should also be rescinded.

England have their own disciplinary concerns heading into the quarter-final against Norway. The FA is understood to be considering an appeal over Jarell Quansah’s red card against Mexico, which was issued following a VAR review of a late challenge. Rice, Nico O’Reilly, and Marc Guehi are each one booking away from a suspension that would rule them out of a potential semi-final.

England have also confirmed that Jordan Henderson will play no further part in the tournament after suffering a freak arm injury that requires surgery.