The conflict between the Moroccan national team and its French counterpart is renewed today, Thursday, in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup, amidst huge Moroccan anticipation and hopes pinned on sporting revenge for the controversial loss in the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
Tonight, Moroccan fans recall the memories of the 2022 World Cup semi-final, when the Atlas Lions’ journey ended with a (0-2) loss to France in a match that witnessed a refereeing incident that sparked outrage. In the first half, when the score was 1-0 in favor of France, Moroccan star Sofiane Boufal was clearly and explicitly fouled inside the penalty area by French defender Theo Hernandez, who slid directly towards Boufal’s foot, which was stationary on the ground, without any contact with the ball.
Instead of awarding a legitimate penalty kick, Mexican referee Cesar Ramos surprised everyone by awarding a foul against Boufal and giving him a yellow card, a situation that international refereeing experts unanimously agreed was a "blatant robbery" that changed the course of Moroccan football history.
At the press conference ahead of tonight's summit, France coach Didier Deschamps refused to acknowledge that Morocco had been wronged by the referee in the 2022 World Cup semi-final, saying: "There are no mistakes made by referees, mistakes are made by players. Was there a penalty for Morocco? I don't think so, and the referee didn't think so either."
Deschamps added: "It depends on which team you support, so you see the play from your own perspective. In any case, there's no point in going back to the past, and there's no such thing as revenge in football; what's done is done," hoping that the refereeing errors in tonight's match would be minimal for both sides.
There are fears of a repeat of the refereeing errors scenario tonight, after the "unusual" decision of the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) to appoint a full refereeing team of five referees of one nationality, Argentina, to manage this crucial summit, which puts the Argentine whistle under strict scrutiny from the Moroccan fans who fear the absence of justice for the second time in a row against the French.
It is worth noting that the winner of tonight's match will play against the winner of the Spain-Belgium match, which will take place tomorrow, Friday.
