FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) 鈥� France coach Didier Deschamps says that its appeal of star Michael Olise鈥檚 controversial yellow card during its was denied by FIFA on Wednesday.
鈥淭here was no change when it comes to Olise鈥檚 yellow card. We received FIFA鈥檚 decision this morning that the yellow card was maintained,鈥� Deschamps said.
It means that if Olise were to receive another yellow card during France鈥檚 quarterfinal matchup with Morocco on Thursday, it would result in a suspension for a potential semifinal game.
The country鈥檚 federation appealed the infraction that was issued to Olise in the 97th minute of its 1-0 win over Paraguay following his altercation with Mat铆as Galarza.
Galarza went to the ground during a skirmish between the two players, though video replays only seemed to reveal Olise grasping the Paraguayan鈥檚 jersey before he toppled to the grass.
The appeal came after U.S. President last week to FIFA head Gianni Infantino to make the case that U.S. striker Folarin Balogun should not have been suspended for Monday鈥檚 matchup with Belgium because of a red card in a game last week. and cleared Balogun to play.
The decision ultimately didn鈥檛 help the U.S. team, which was eliminated from the World Cup with Balogun in the lineup.
Olise鈥檚 appeal status was one of the first questions Deschamps was asked Wednesday as his team prepares for its fourth straight World Cup quarterfinals appearance. With a victory, France would remain on track to advance to become only the third nation to reach the semifinals in three successive tournaments, joining Germany (four from 2002 to 2014 and three from 1982 to 1990) and Brazil (three from 1994 to 2002).
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