Paraguay coach responds to shock insults fired at Didier Deschamps after France defeat dark arts | OneFootball

Angered Paraguay head coach Gustavo Alfaro was forced to deny accusations that insults were directed at Didier Deschamps and his late mother after France booked their place in the World Cup quarter-finals.

Kylian Mbappe’s second-half penalty was enough to see the tournament favourites progress to a last-eight clash with Morocco during an ill-tempered clash in the punishing heat of Philadelphia.

Deschamps was forced to return to his homeland during the group stages and miss the 4-1 win over Norway due to the death of his mother.

He returned to the dugout for the impressive 3-0 win over Sweden in the Round of 32 and was front and centre during a dramatic encounter with Paraguay, who had knocked out Germany in the previous round.

Paraguay’s dark arts were deployed throughout to frustrate France and, as the game progressed, their actions turned feistier as more and more flashpoints took place.

Mbappe was in the thick of the action, while Adrien Rabiot, Jules Kounde and Michael Olise were all on the receiving end of robust tackles.

Tensions also flared after the full-time whistle, with Deschamps revealing during his post-match press conference that he was subjected to insults: “I could have done without the insults on the bench. Especially some of them.”

Alfaro claims Paraguay would never ‘sink that low’

However, Paraguay coach Alfaro, when asked about insults towards his counterpart, responded: “No, absolutely not. You can’t sink that low in football. Never. I thought you were referring to the exchanges between players during the match. I respect him enormously and admire him greatly.

“Yes, there were some disputes, particularly regarding VAR. Some were calling for a penalty, others weren’t. But, honestly, I’ve never heard that kind of insult. And knowing my staff, I’m convinced that none of them would behave that way.

“Football isn’t war. I’m not going to apologize for something that, to my knowledge, didn’t happen. However, I am completely opposed to this kind of behavior.

“If I had heard such remarks, I would have reacted immediately myself. It’s unacceptable. I am totally against it.”

“The first thing I did after the final whistle was to go and find Didier Deschamps. I wished him all the best in reaching the final and becoming world champion.

“I had already told him before the match: he has a fantastic team.”

Uzbek official Ilgiz Tantashev came in for heavy criticism following his performance in the middle after dishing out three France yellows and, incredibly, none for the Paraguayans – despite their roughhouse tactics.

Gustavo Valazquez was seen to kick out at Mbappe, leaving the Frenchman on the floor, but the incident went unpunished. While 24-year-old River Plate midfielder Matias Galarza appeared to catch the striker during the first-half while tracking back before leaving Kounde in a heap as Paraguay looked to counter.

Next up for France is a quarter-final clash with Morocco in Boston on Thursday evening.