‘Biggest Scandals’: Trevor Noah Calls Out FIFA’s Poor Decision Regarding France vs Morocco Quarterfinal
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‘Biggest Scandals’: Trevor Noah Calls Out FIFA’s Poor Decision Regarding France vs Morocco Quarterfinal
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Sport Bilder des Tages 190605 — PARIS, June 5, 2019 Xinhua — FIFA President Gianni Infantino reacts during a press conference, PK, Pressekonferenz after the 69th FIFA Congress in Paris, France on June 5, 2019. Xinhua/Gao Jing SPFRANCE-PARIS-FIFA-CONGRESS-GIANNI INFANTINO PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxCHN
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Sport Bilder des Tages 190605 — PARIS, June 5, 2019 Xinhua — FIFA President Gianni Infantino reacts during a press conference, PK, Pressekonferenz after the 69th FIFA Congress in Paris, France on June 5, 2019. Xinhua/Gao Jing SPFRANCE-PARIS-FIFA-CONGRESS-GIANNI INFANTINO PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxCHN
While France and Morocco battled it out for a place in the FIFA World Cup semifinals, the action on the pitch wasn’t the only story drawing attention. Comedian and TV host Trevor Noah questioned FIFA’s decision to appoint an all-Argentine referee crew for the match, arguing that they had created unnecessary controversy.
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“The whole referee team is Argentina! One of the biggest scandals of the day,” he said during a watch party he hosted. “If you’re FIFA, would you not consider the importance of optics? Why not have the refs be from a few different nations?
“Why have one of the most important games refereed by a full Argentine potential rival squad?”
Noah’s comments refer to the announcement the governing body made a few days ago, when the officiating crew for the match was revealed. The crew was led by Facundo Tello and featured an all-Argentine officiating crew.
It goes without saying that the decision immediately sparked debate online, considering the history between France and Argentina. Argentina is the team that beat France in the 2022 World Cup finals. In this World Cup, the team is still alive in the tournament following a controversial win against Egypt in the Round of 16.
That game was a point of focus for Noah’s co-host, who highlighted that the officiating crew for that game was primarily French. Though Argentine fans complained before the game, Egyptian supporters later became opposed to the referees for allegedly being biased in Argentina’s favor after several controversial calls.
In fact, the Egyptian Football Association later called out referee Francois Letexier and his team. Even coach Hossam Hassan talked about the biased officiating:
“Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition.”
However, the co-host ultimately agreed with Noah that the optics resulting from an all-Argentine crew in a key game for France were not good, and FIFA could’ve avoided the situation altogether.
More importantly, Noah never accused the officials themselves. His criticism was focused entirely on FIFA for creating a situation where the refs would be a part of the situation, regardless of how well the match was officiated.
“The officials may have gotten the calls right,” he wrote in the caption of his X post. “But did FIFA get the assignment right?”
FIFA has faced many officiating controversies this World Cup, and this situation has added another one to their already loaded plate.
