France insists yellow-card appeal to FIFA is unrelated to Balogun mess (uh, sure)

In the wake of FIFA fanning the flames of the Folarin Balogun fiasco, it's only natural for other men's World Cup countries to try to get the same seeming favor that the United States just did. This is especially so for nations with a greater history of success, who are inarguably one of the marquee draws of the entire tournament.

Take France, for example.

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With a monster Thursday quarterfinals matchup against Morocco looming, the French Football Federation (FFF) is reportedly appealing what sure seemed like a dubious yellow card for forward Michael Olise, one of the best players at this World Cup so far. Olise received the yellow card after a late confrontation with Paraguay's Matías Galarza in the Round of 16. This, even though replays showed Galarza holding his shirt, not his face, as if he had been hit by Olise.

With one more yellow, Olise could be in line to miss a World Cup semifinal, which is something France understandably wants to avoid and give its player a bigger margin of error. Of course, the FFF denies that this appeal to FIFA over a yellow card is unrelated to the delay in Balogun's red-card suspension that will allow him to play for the United States men's national team against Belgium in the Round of 16 on Monday night.

Uh, huh. Sure.

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The FFF’s move comes after FIFA suspended a one-match ban for USA striker Folarin Balogun following an intervention involving U.S. president Donald Trump, government officials, U.S. Soccer, and an extensive legal team. The FFF insist its appeal is not a direct response to the Balogun case and that Olise’s yellow card was an injustice in its own right.

While there's no way to prove the French are lying, because Olise's yellow card was, in fact, weak, there's also no real reason to believe them, either, given the timing of their appeal. That's because FIFA listening to appeals for yellow cards in the World Cup, not just reds, is also pretty unprecedented. When connecting the dots, it's hard not to see the FFF saying "what about us?" as it tries to shake up FIFA for some "flexibility" in the rules after the USMNT was granted extraordinary leeway.

Is this Michael Olise's first World Cup for France?

While the 24-year-old Olise has represented France since 2024, this is the first World Cup he has ever played in. The young attacking midfielder is considered an integral piece of France's offensive puzzle alongside Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé.

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