Morocco lodge complaint with FIFA over referee decisions during World Cup semi-final against France

Controversial decisions made by referee has been the talk of FIFA World Cup in Qatar throughout the knockout stages.

On Wednesday, Morocco lodged an official complaint with FIFA regarding the controversial calls made by referee Cesar Ramos during the crucial semi-final match against defending champions France. Morocco’s fairytale run in the World Cup ended with a 0-2 loss to France.

Morocco had scripted an astounding run to the semis with wins against former champion Spain in Round of 16 and title favourites Portugal in the quarterfinal before being stopped by France in the semis. Theo Hernandez had scored the opener in the first five minutes of the tie before Randal Kolo Muani put the final nail in the coffin with a second-half strike as Walid Regragui’s side crashed out of the World Cup.

The Moroccan side however was left furious as some of the calls made by the referee during the match one of which included the yellow-card call for Sofiane Boufal for fouling Hernandez, when they felt it should have been the other way round leaving the African team frustrated. Morocco were hoping for a penalty call, but Ramos went with a free kick for France.

In a statement the RFFM said: “The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) strongly protested against the arbitration of the Morocco-France match officiated by Mr. Cesar Arturo Ramos. To this end, the FRMF sent a letter to the competent body in which it returns to the arbitration situations which deprived the Moroccan selection of two indisputable penalties in the opinion of several arbitration specialists.

“The FRMF also expressed its great astonishment that the Video Assistance to Arbitration (VAR) system did not react to these arbitration situations. The FRMF recalls that it will spare no effort to defend and preserve the rights of the National Selections by advocating fairness in arbitration and by denouncing these arbitration decisions taken during this semi-final confrontation of the World Cup. of FIFA Qatar 2022.”

It is unlikely that an official complaint could change things for Morocco given that France and Argentina will face each other in the World Cup final in Lusail stadium in another two days.