Our opponent is Morocco, not the referee: France coach

France head coach Didier Deschamps waded into the World Cup's growing refereeing controversy on Thursday (July 9), but stopped short of any explosive remarks, insisting he holds "complete respect" for match officials ahead of Friday's quarter-final against Morocco.

Refereeing and VAR decisions have dominated headlines since the tournament kicked off, with the debate reigniting after Wednesday's Argentina-Egypt match split opinion among former elite referees. The issue was inevitably raised at Deschamps' pre-match press conference, with reporters noting that the officiating team for the France-Morocco tie — the referee, assistants and the rest of the panel — are all Argentine, a coincidence given Argentina's own status as a leading title contender this tournament.

Deschamps brushed aside the suggestion of any bias. "Our opponent is Morocco, not the referee," he said.

The France coach also dismissed any talk of revenge, despite the two sides' history at the last World Cup, where France beat Morocco 2-0 in the semi-finals in Qatar before going on to reach the final. Morocco will see Friday's quarter-final as a chance to avenge that defeat.

"There is no such thing as revenge in football," Deschamps said. "Whoever performs best on the day will win."

Morocco, semi-finalists at the last World Cup, have continued their strong run into this tournament and reached the quarter-finals by eliminating the Netherlands in the round of 16. Deschamps said his side would need to raise their game to overcome a Moroccan team built around the likes of Achraf Hakimi and Hakim Ziyech.

"They're playing brilliant football," he said. "To beat them, we'll need to play even better than we normally do." He also warned against complacency, adding: "Morocco are not Paraguay. They knocked out the Netherlands to get here."

France's attack — led by Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise, Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele — has been the tournament's most prolific, with France topping the goal-scoring charts so far.

Deschamps, who won the World Cup as a player in 1998 and as coach in 2018, and led France to the final in 2022, will step down from his role after this tournament. Asked whether Friday's match could be his last in charge, he declined to dwell on the question. "Right now, I'm only thinking about the Morocco match," he said with a smile. "Whether tomorrow is my last day is not something I'm thinking about at this point."