Sofiane Boufal being shown a yellow card by referee Cesar Ramos.© AFP
Morocco lost to France 2-0 in the second semi-final of the FIFA World Cup 2022 on Wednesday. Goals from Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani for defending champions France brought an end to the memorable campaign of Morocco, who became the first African team to enter the semi-final of a World Cup. The country’s football governing body – FRMF – has now lodged an official complaint to FIFA over refereeing in their loss to France, claimed several media reports.
According to the reports, referee Cesar Ramos denied Morocco two penalties in the first half of the semi-final. The Athletic quoted a statement from the FRMF as saying: “The FRMF has filed an official protest to FIFA regarding the grotesque refereeing of the France-Morocco match, especially following the two penalties not whistled for Morocco in the first half.”
The FRMF added on their website that it “will not hesitate to defend the rights of our national team, demanding fairness.”
According to Daily Mail, one of the alleged incident happened when Morocco forward Sofiane Boufal was booked for a foul on France left-back Theo Hernandez in the box. The latter had collide with Boufal inside the French box. Referee Ramos gave Boufal a yellow card.
Former England player Rio Ferdinand, while commentating for BBC studio, said: “I think anywhere else on the pitch that’s a foul, so why is it not a penalty? That is out of order. I think it’s a pen, he definitely doesn’t deserve to get booked.”
With the win France a final face-off with Argentina on Sunday. Morocco will face Croatia in the third-place play-off on Saturday.
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