FIFA has dismissed an appeal made by the French Football Federation [FFF] to rescind Michael Olise’s yellow card against Paraguay, head coach Didier Deschamps confirmed.
Olise was booked during the round of 16 tie following an altercation with Matías Galarza. The Paraguay midfielder fell to the floor holding his face, although replays appeared to show Olise only holding his shirt.
The FFF believed they had grounds for appeal, particularly given FIFA’s shock decision to suspend Folarin Balogun’s one-match ban and allow the U.S. forward to play against Belgium.
But at a pre-match news conference, Deschamps revealed their request to FIFA has been rejected meaning Olise risks suspension from the semifinal if he picks up another yellow card in the quarterfinal tie against Morocco in Boston on Thursday night.
“There was no change with Olise’s yellow card,” said Deschamps.
“We received from FIFA a decision this morning [Wednesday] that Olise’s yellow card remains.”
Deschamps is preparing his players to face Morocco in the last eight in what is a repeat of the semifinal from Qatar four years ago.
Aurélien Tchouaméni missed the 1-0 win over Paraguay with a groin injury, but the Real Madrid midfielder trained on Wednesday and could possibly return against Morocco.
Deschamps also revealed that striker Kylian Mbappé is ready to face Morocco despite being embroiled in a racism row with a Paraguayan senator.
Mbappé branded Celeste Amarilla a “despicable woman” after remarks made in posts following Paraguay’s defeat to France in the last round.
“Kylian is OK,” said Deschamps.
“Whatever happened, I don’t want to look back and think about it. He’s a very strong guy mentally and physically. He’s focused on tomorrow’s game. Kylian is feeling OK just like the rest of the group.”
