The French team defeated Paraguay 1-0 and qualified for the quarterfinals of the World Cup, but the match will start mainly with the foul play of the South American team, as well as the fact that the referee from Uzbekistan Ilgiz Tantashev did not show a single yellow card to the Paraguayans, BTA reported.
"I've never played in a match like this, with so much punching, shoving in the back. It was difficult, but we won", said PSG striker Bradley Barcola, quoted by AFP. "I got hit a lot, but I shouldn't have responded, I shouldn't have gotten into this game", he added.
"I have nothing to say about the refereeing, you saw it yourself. There were 30-40 fouls and not a single yellow card", Ryan Sherkey lamented.
"I didn't understand how the Paraguayans got away without a card. "I think the referee was not up to the task," former international referee Bruno Derien told the agency.
"I would have received four red cards in this match," said Swedish legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic, commenting on Fox Sports.
With the exception of a foul by Lionel Messi in the match against Algeria, which could have been sanctioned with a red card, and the offside during Croatia's goal against Portugal for the ball touching a player's hair, there have been no serious refereeing errors so far, Bruno Derien believes.
"The overall impression is that the referees' philosophy is to let play flow more freely, with the referees being up to the task," the former referee also said.