France Confirms Verdict of Michael Olise Yellow Card Appeal Before Morocco Clash

France manager Didier Deschamps has confirmed that FIFA has rejected the team’s request to wipe a yellow card handed out to Michael Olise before Thursday’s World Cup quarterfinal against Norway.

Olise was cautioned during France’s 1–0 victory over Paraguay in the round of 16 following a clash with Matías Galarza. The Atlanta United midfielder went down holding his face but replays showed Olise did little more than pull his shirt.

While not significant in isolation, the issue for France is that Olise would be suspended for the semifinal if he picks up another booking during Thursday’s game. The French Football Federation (FFF) appealed to FIFA to get the yellow card wiped, believing it was unfairly issued in the first place, and pointed to the controversial decision to reverse a suspension handed out to USMNT striker Folarin Balogun.

Nevertheless, FIFA has dismissed France’s case, upholding the yellow card handed out to Olise.

“There was no change with Olise’s yellow card,” Deschamps confirmed on Wednesday. “We received from FIFA a decision this morning that Olise’s yellow card remains.”

Olise Left Sweating Over Potential Semifinal Ban

News of FIFA’s decision to uphold Olise’s caution comes as a frustrating blow to the FFF, which felt it had a genuine case and accused Galarza of deceiving the referee to get the Bayern Munich winger booked unfairly.

The reality is, however, an appeal would likely never have been submitted had it not been for the controversy surrounding Balogun, which opened the door to appeals against decisions that were otherwise seemingly concrete.

FIFA set a precedent with its willingness to clear Balogun to play—a decision made following intervention from the White House and President Donald Trump—but has declined to follow suit with Olise.

The situation for Olise is clear. He is free to face Morocco on Thursday and, if he does not pick up a caution in the quarterfinal clash, he will be able to advance to the semifinals, with all yellow cards being wiped ahead of the final four.

The controversy will be reignited if he does pick up a booking against Morocco and a subsequent suspension for the semifinal, which will be against the victor of Friday’s meeting between Spain and Belgium. Another appeal is entirely feasible even if FIFA appears to have already made its stance clear.

FIFA has landed itself in the spotlight with its controversial decision to reverse Balogun’s red card. Having previously confirmed there was no appeal process and formalized a suspension for the USMNT striker, soccer’s governing body eventually reversed the decision following an informal appeal from President Trump, a known ally of FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

Believing FIFA had now proven its receptiveness to appeals, France tested its luck by questioning Olise’s caution but was met by the same response shown to everybody other than Balogun.

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