World Cup 2022: Morocco complains to Fifa over referee decisions during France semi-final
Morocco’s football federation (FMRF) has complained to Fifa over refereeing decisions during the nation’s World Cup semi-final defeat to France on Wednesday.
The Atlas Lions lost the match 2-0, after goals from France left-back Theo Hernandez and substitute Randal Kolo Muani.
The Moroccans were unhappy with referee Cesar Arturo Ramos and his assistants for not awarding two penalties for perceived fouls on Sofiane Boufal and Selim Amallah.
"The letter presented to the relevant bodies disputed the refereeing decisions which prevented the Moroccan team from two penalties which were indisputable according to several refereeing specialists," the federation said in a statement on Thursday.
"The FMRF was equally astonished that the video assistant referee (VAR) did not react to these situations."
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It added that it would not "sway from defending the rights of our team and demanding to carry out the necessary procedures regarding the unjust judgments".
In the case of Boufal, who some fans and pundits thought was fouled by Hernandez in the first half, it was the Moroccan who in fact received a yellow card over the incident.
Morocco's defeat ended their historic run at the tournament in which they beat Spain and Portugal to become the first African or Arab country to reach the last four.
The north African side will now play Croatia, with whom they drew in their opening game of the tournament, in the third-place playoff on Saturday.
This article is available in French on Middle East Eye French edition.
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