France far from thrilled with officiating in World Cup semifinal loss

ARLINGTON, Texas — France coach Didier Deschamps had a question for the room full of reporters. “I don’t want to answer about [the referee],” he said after Spain bounced his team out of the World Cup 2-0 in the semifinal.“I don’t want to say that just because we lost, but do you believe that the referee was up to the task to officiate a semifinal?” While the choice of Salvadoran referee Ivan Barton for a game of this magnitude did raise some eyebrows when announced among those familiar with him from CONCACAF, it’s hard to argue officiating decided this match. Barton awarded Spain a penalty after 22 minutes when French fullback Lucas Digne kicked Lamine Yamal while trying to play the ball, which seemed to be Deschamps’ main point of contention, though he refused multiple opportunities to confirm that. While the call didn’t come on a scoring opportunity, it was a clear foul inside the penalty area.

It might be harsh that the rule awarded Spain a penalty, but there is little disputing the interpretation of the rule itself was correct. “Lucas is a pro.These things happen in football,” Maxence Lacroix said.

“I think it should have been reviewed.” Every match of the FIFA World Cup will air on either FOX or FOX Sports 1.If you don’t have cable, you can take advantage of a DIRECTV free trial to stream it all.Prefer to check out the action live and in person? Shop World Cup 2026 tickets on SeatGeek and make sure to use promo code NYPOST10 for $10 off purchases over $250 at checkout if you’re a first-time SeatGeek user.Lacroix and Rayan Cherki were the only two French players to speak to reporters after the match, with the rest of the team likely to pick up a fine for skipping the mandatory mixed zone. Barton did seem to bizarrely overturn a foul toward the end of the first half after Ousmane Dembélé went down on the edge of the penalty area and Spain protested, and the reason was not immediately clear. Nevertheless, the idea that ...