France’s narrow victory over Paraguay was overshadowed by what experts described as the “dark arts” and tactics described as “shameful”, but referees have also come under fire
Referee Ilgiz Tantashev was unable to control the match as Paraguay heavily targeted Kylian Mbappé and others with their ‘dark arts’ tactics (Image: AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
FIFA is facing calls to suspend referee Ilgiz Tantashev, who did not name any Paraguayan players in the disastrous defeat against France. World Cup fans were outraged by his performance, with Tantashev accused of being “not interested” in enforcing the rules of the game or protecting players.
Although the French players escaped with no serious injuries, they were heavily targeted by Paraguay’s aggressive tactics and regular attacks. The match also had some flashpoints, ending in unpleasant scenes with both teams clashing after Paraguay expressed their anger at being eliminated.
BBC pundits Joe Hart and Thomas Hitzlsperger were relentless in their condemnation of Paraguay’s actions, branding them “disgraceful”. Despite committing 12 fouls, referee Tantashev, who has been a FIFA official referee for 13 years, did not issue a single yellow card to the South American team throughout the entire 90 minutes.
However, three French players were cautioned during the match. World Cup fans took to social media to slam the Uzbekistan international for his failure to control the match, with many labeling him “incompetent” and calling for him to be suspended.
One fan wrote: “Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev gave an extraordinary performance. He has no interest in refereeing, he has no interest in applying the laws of the game, he has no interest in the well-being and well-being of the players. France were very lucky not to be seriously injured.”
Another added: “That was one of the worst refereeing performances I’ve ever seen at any level,” while a third said: “Paraguay didn’t get a single yellow card (laughing face emoji). Shocking performance from the referee.”
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Some called for FIFA to take action. “Ilgiz Tantashev needs a red card and a suspension for the rest of the World Cup. Why can’t he seriously think Paraguay deserves a warning?” one said.
A second wrote: “Ilgiz Tantashev and the VAR official on duty should be suspended. That was the worst refereeing I’ve seen at this World Cup,” while a third added: “Shame on you, referee Ilgiz Tantashev. Why would you entrust this level of football to an incompetent referee?”
Mbappe, who scored the only goal of the match, protested to the referee (Image: Getty Images)
Kylian Mbappé’s penalty in the 70th minute gave France a 1-0 lead and advanced to a quarter-final showdown with Morocco, but the talk after the final whistle was all about Paraguay. Former Premier League star Hitzlsperger admitted after the game that he had lost respect for the Paraguayan team, while Hart was disgusted and torn by them.
The Paraguayan players clashed with Mbappe on several occasions, with the 27-year-old, who is currently tied with Lionel Messi as the tournament’s top scorer with seven goals, refusing to shake the hand of goalkeeper Orlando Gil at full-time and hurling the ball at Mbappe in a fit of frustration.
Speaking on the BBC, Hart defended the France international’s talisman’s near calm behavior and was also critical of the referee. “I really like the way[Mbappe]behaved in this game, because they were targeting him from the beginning,” he said. “And towards the end he was just laughing at the Paraguayan players, but I mean… he’s allowed to be arrogant because he’s good, but the Paraguayan players tonight were an absolute disgrace.
Paraguay players committed several fouls during the 90 minutes but were not penalized (Image: CameraSport via Getty Images)
“If they were in my team, I would have dragged half of them off the pitch. I never want to win like that, I never want to play football like that, and the referee didn’t help me in any situation.
“The fact that we didn’t have a single Paraguayan player booked for 90 minutes today is really surprising. Fair play for France, you know what that means. Sometimes you play beautiful football and knock people out of the park, but when you win as a team and get that win like we did tonight? That’s great.”
Meanwhile, coach Thierry Henry claimed it was a “soccer victory” after France advanced to the top. “Soccer has won,” declared the 1998 World Cup winner.
“I don’t want to talk about Paraguay. I want to talk about what France did. How they kept their cool, how Kylian Mbappé had the last laugh. Even though they finished the game, many players did not respond to provocations. I think for Paraguay we got three yellow cards and one at the end.”
“But at the end of the day, that’s the World Cup and that’s what it is. It’s not always easy. But well done, they stayed calm, it was very difficult, but like I said, football won.”
