France Appeal to FIFA Over Olise’s Yellow Card After Balogun Decision

The French Football Federation (FFF) has appealed to FIFA to overturn the yellow card shown to Michael Olise during France’s 1-0 victory over Paraguay in the Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

 

Olise was cautioned after an altercation with Paraguay midfielder Matias Galarza during the encounter.

 

Although Galarza went to ground clutching his face, television replays appeared to show that the Bayern Munich winger only pulled his opponent’s shirt.

 

If the booking is upheld, Olise will go into France’s World Cup quarter-final against Morocco one yellow card away from suspension.

 

A further caution would rule him out of a potential semi-final should France progress.

 

According to sources familiar with the development, the French Football Federation has formally submitted an appeal to FIFA, arguing that the caution was issued in error.

 

However, FIFA is yet to comment on the request.

 

The French federation insisted that the appeal was based solely on what it considers an incorrect refereeing decision and was not influenced by FIFA’s recent ruling involving United States forward Folarin Balogun.

 

Balogun was initially sent off during the USA’s Round of 16 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina but was later cleared to feature in the quarter-final against Belgium after FIFA suspended his one-match ban for one year under Article 27 of its disciplinary code.

 

The decision attracted widespread criticism across European football.

 

UEFA described FIFA’s action as unprecedented, warning that the ruling had raised serious concerns about the integrity of the game.

 

The European football governing body said the decision had “crossed a red line” and described it as “unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable.”