France have asked FIFA to overturn the yellow card shown to Michael Olise during their FIFA World Cup Round of 16 victory over Paraguay, following the governing body’s controversial decision to suspend the one-match ban imposed on United States striker Folarin Balogun.
The French Football Federation (FFF) has formally appealed the caution, arguing that Olise was wrongly booked during France’s 1-0 victory after an altercation with Paraguay midfielder Matias Galarza.
Television replays appeared to show the Bayern Munich forward grabbing only Galarza’s shirt despite the midfielder falling to the ground clutching his face.
If the booking stands, Olise will head into Thursday’s World Cup quarter-final against Morocco one yellow card away from suspension.
Another caution would rule him out of a potential semi-final against either Spain or Portugal should France progress.
According to sources familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the appeal publicly, the FFF has submitted a formal request to FIFA seeking to overturn the booking.
The federation maintains that its appeal is based solely on what it believes was an incorrect refereeing decision and is not directly linked to FIFA’s recent handling of Balogun’s disciplinary case.
However, the appeal comes just days after FIFA suspended the enforcement of the automatic one-match ban handed to Balogun following his red card in the United States’ Round of 32 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The decision, taken under Article 27 of FIFA’s Disciplinary Code, allowed the United States forward to remain eligible for the Round of 16 clash against Belgium and triggered widespread criticism across European football.
Among the strongest critics was UEFA, which accused FIFA of undermining confidence in the game’s disciplinary system.
The European governing body said the decision had “crossed a red line”, leaving “the integrity of the game … at stake”.
It added: “We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision.”
FIFA had yet to comment on France’s appeal as of the time of filing this report.