FIFA is facing mounting calls to review the performance of referee Ilgiz Tantashev after the Uzbek official failed to caution a single Paraguay player during a bruising 1-0 Round of 16 defeat to France at the 2026 World Cup.
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Paraguay committed 12 fouls without a single booking despite a string of robust challenges and repeated flashpoints throughout the match, drawing sharp criticism from fans and pundits alike. France, in contrast, had three players cautioned. The game descended into chaos after the final whistle, with players from both sides clashing following Paraguay’s elimination from the tournament.
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Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart and former Germany midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger, both working as pundits for BBC Sport, condemned Paraguay’s conduct as a “disgrace.” The reaction online was equally scathing, with many social media users accusing Tantashev of losing control of the match and failing to safeguard player safety.
“Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev with an extraordinary performance. No interest in refereeing, no interest in applying the laws of the game, no interest in player welfare or well-being. France very fortunate to avoid serious injuries,” one fan wrote.
Another supporter described it as “one of the worst referee performances I have ever seen at any level,” while a third fan called it a “shocking performance from the ref,” noting that not a single Paraguay player was booked.
Some fans went further, demanding sanctions against the official. “Ilgiz Tantashev needs a red card and suspended for the rest of the World Cup. How can he seriously not think Paraguay deserved a booking?” one supporter wrote.
France won the contest through a 70th-minute penalty converted by Kylian Mbappé, booking their place in a quarter-final meeting with Morocco.
The match was overshadowed by repeated confrontations involving Mbappé, who was on the receiving end of heavy challenges throughout and refused to shake hands with Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill at the final whistle. Gill responded by throwing the ball toward the striker in an apparent show of frustration.
Hart defended Mbappé’s conduct, laying blame instead on Paraguay’s approach and the officiating. “I absolutely love how he’s behaved in this game, because they have come for him from minute one,” Hart said.
“The Paraguayan players were an absolute disgrace tonight. If they were on my team I’d be dragging half of them off the pitch. I would never want to win that way, I would never want to play football that way and the referee didn’t help in any of the circumstances. The fact that not one Paraguayan was booked inside the 90 minutes today is absolutely astonishing,” he added.
Former France forward Thierry Henry, meanwhile, praised the composure shown by Didier Deschamps’ side amid the physical nature of the encounter.
“Football won,” Henry said. “I don’t want to talk about Paraguay. I want to talk about what France did. How they stayed composed. How Kylian Mbappe was laughing at the end. How a lot of the players didn’t react to the provocation. It’s not always going to be easy. But well done, they stayed calm, it was very difficult, but like I said, football won.”
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