France-Spain: Deschamps and Rodri unite to criticize Ivan Barton's refereeing

France lost 2-0 to Spain in the semi-final on Tuesday, and the performance of Salvadoran referee Ivan Barton drew criticism from both sides of the pitch. Didier Deschamps openly questioned his level, while Spanish captain Rodri denounced excessive leniency toward French defenders.

Deschamps first acknowledged his players’ shortcomings, admitting they had been “a notch below” with numerous “technical errors”. But the French manager also targeted the refereeing: “I don’t want to come across as a sore loser because we lost, but I’m asking you whether the referee has the level to officiate a semi-final. There’s the penalty but it’s not just that, it comes on top of everything else. I have nothing against tonight’s referee, but ask yourselves the question.”

What makes the situation unusual is that criticism also came from the winning camp. Rodri, Spain’s captain, criticized Barton’s leniency toward French players, who he said committed repeated fouls against Lamine Yamal. “This is the third match we’re dealing with this type of situation. We’re talking about 10 or 15 fouls not called. And if you don’t whistle them, defenses keep doing the same thing. The leniency is obvious,” he said, before praising the young Barcelona player’s performance despite the blows he took.

Sportively, France’s defeat is the third consecutive loss to Spain in knockout matches, following defeats in the Euro semi-final (2-1) and the Nations League semi-final (5-4). The Blues failed to be dangerous throughout the match, leaving Spain to control the game without real opposition.