FIFA Upholds Olise's Yellow Card – France Star Faces Semifinal Suspension Risk

FIFA has rejected France's appeal to overturn the yellow card shown to midfielder Michael Olise during their World Cup 2026 round-of-16 win over Paraguay (1-0). The 24-year-old was booked in stoppage time after a confrontation with Paraguay's Matías Galarza. Replays clearly showed the contact did not warrant a caution, but FIFA's disciplinary panel chose to back the referee's controversial decision. "We received FIFA's ruling this morning — the card stands," France head coach Didier Deschamps told reporters at a press conference. Olise now heads into Tuesday's quarterfinal against Morocco knowing that another booking would trigger an automatic suspension for the semifinal, should France advance. Notably, U.S. forward Folarin Balogun was spared a similar fate earlier in the tournament and was allowed to play against Belgium. France and Morocco kick off at 23:00 local time on July 9.