France reach semis as Pierluigi Collina defends officials and Jarell Quansah hit with ban | OneFootball

France reached the World Cup semi-finals by beating Morocco 2-0, as the night also brought Pierluigi Collina’s defence of referees and a FIFA ban for Jarell Quansah. As reported by Le Progres, it was not only about Les Bleus.

On the pitch, Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé scored, Mbappé’s eighth of this World Cup. Didier Deschamps will oversee two more matches and, with 25 World Cup games and 19 wins, has equalled a record he could beat in the semi-final. He is the second coach to reach three World Cup semi-finals, after Helmut Schön.

After Egypt’s fury at Argentina’s late turnaround in the last 16, Collina reviewed the incidents. He said Marwan Attia trod on Lisandro Martinez before Egypt’s disallowed goal, and the Mohamed Salah and Julian Alvarez contact was a normal duel. He rejected corruption suspicions, saying officials’ integrity should not be questioned.

FIFA was lenient with Folarin Balogun before USA v Belgium, using Article 27 to cancel his ban after discussions with Donald Trump. It was less forgiving with Quansah, who was sent off against Mexico and received a two-match ban. He will miss England’s quarter-final with Norway and any semi-final against Argentina or Switzerland, returning only if the Three Lions reach the final.

Mbappé’s duel with close friend Achraf Hakimi was intense but fair. The France captain missed a penalty, scored, then went off with a sore ankle, before the pair embraced at full-time. Morocco’s captain departs at the quarter-final stage.

Source: Le Progres