France coach Didier Deschamps blamed the referee after World Cup semifinal loss to Spain

[ASFN Admin]

There was little that went France's way in Spain's convincing World Cup semifinal win over Les Bleus at AT&T Stadium on Tuesday. But despite being completely outclassed in a 2-0 defeat, France coach Didier Deschamps was furious about the referee.

Speaking to reporters after the match, Deschamps — who officially retired as France coach following the loss — took issue with referee Iván Barton of El Salvador.

Deschamps said that he didn't believe that Barton was the caliber of referee who deserved to officiate a World Cup semifinal. And while Barton did decide to keep the yellow card in his pocket after a reckless Lamine Yamal foul, he called more fouls against Spain than France.

️| Didier Deschamps: “Tell me, does this referee have the level to officiate a World Cup semi-final?” pic.twitter.com/bLcYvTl79d

— BarçaTimes (@BarcaTimes) July 14, 2026

Deschamps likely was fuming over the penalty that was awarded to Spain in the first half, but by letter of the law, Barton was correct in that decision.

Another look at the Lucas Digne challenge on Lamine Yamal that resulted in a Spain penalty pic.twitter.com/cfwNX5QFbo

— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) July 14, 2026

But given the dominance in which Spain controlled the match, it seemed awfully strange of Deschamps to take issue with the refereeing.

His team was outplayed. It was that simple. The match didn't come down to a call or officiating decision.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: France coach Didier Deschamps blamed the referee after World Cup semifinal loss to Spain

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