It took Didier Deschamps, head coach of the French national team, just one week to go from praising the officiating in one World Cup 2026 match to openly questioning the standard of refereeing, following France's elimination by Spain in the semifinals.

Ironically, before France's quarterfinal clash with Morocco, Deschamps sparked debate when discussing the officiating crew assigned to the match. While expressing confidence in Argentine referee Facundo Tello, he also said he hoped the officials would perform at the same level as French referee François Letexier, who had overseen the Round of 16 clash between Egypt and Argentina.

Deschamps Praises Letexier

Speaking ahead of the Morocco match, Deschamps insisted his focus was on the opponent rather than the referee, acknowledging that refereeing decisions will always be debated in football. He praised Letexier and his assistants, describing their performance as the standard he hoped to see repeated.

However, those comments revived the controversy surrounding the Egypt–Argentina match. Egypt's coaching staff, led by Hossam Hassan, strongly criticized several refereeing decisions, arguing they had a decisive impact on the 3-2 defeat and calling for a review of the French referee's performance.

Officiating Comes Back to Haunt Deschamps

Just a few days later, Deschamps found himself on the other side of the debate after France's 2-0 semifinal defeat to Spain. The French manager publicly questioned whether Salvadoran referee Iván Barton was qualified to officiate a World Cup semifinal.

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Although he admitted Spain deserved to reach the final after being the better team, Deschamps maintained that several controversial decisions deserved scrutiny, while stopping short of blaming the referee entirely for France's elimination.

He acknowledged that France struggled with misplaced passes, ineffective attacking play, and a lack of composure in the final third, allowing Spain to dominate the contest. According to Deschamps, his side simply failed to perform at the level required to reach the final.

The French coach stressed that he did not want to use refereeing as an excuse, but repeated his doubts about the officiating standard, insisting that matches of such magnitude require the highest-quality referees.

Deschamps' remarks added to a growing list of complaints about officiating during the knockout stages of the 2026 World Cup. Hossam Hassan had previously criticized the referee in Egypt's loss to Argentina, while Switzerland coach Murat Yakin later voiced similar concerns following his team's quarterfinal defeat to Argentina.

Within the span of a week, Deschamps had gone from praising the officiating in the Egypt–Argentina match to questioning the referee after France's own exit, highlighting how refereeing has become one of the tournament's most controversial talking points as the World Cup approaches its conclusion.