Deschamps questions referee's level after France's World Cup semifinal loss to Spain
France head coach Didier Deschamps expressed disappointment and indirectly questioned the referee's competence after a 0-2 loss to Spain in the World Cup semifinal, while admitting his team's technical errors were the main cause.
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France national team coach Didier Deschamps did not hide his disappointment after the World Cup semifinal loss to Spain (0-2). In a post-match interview, he indirectly questioned the competence of referee Ivan Barton, pointing to several unfavorable decisions. However, Deschamps emphasized that he was not making excuses solely because of the defeat and admitted that the main reason was his team's poor performance.
France's attack was less dangerous than usual, and the team made too many technical mistakes. Deschamps said the players are devastated because they had high hopes, but they must be realistic and acknowledge the opponent's superiority. The match was officiated by Salvadoran referee Ivan Barton, who had his fourth assignment in this tournament and has been on FIFA's international list since 2018.
This was Deschamps' penultimate game in charge of France; he will leave the position after the World Cup. A bronze medal match remains, which, according to him, will not bring great satisfaction, but the team will prepare with full seriousness.
