World football governing body FIFA has turned down France’s appeal to overturn Michael Olise’s yellow card ahead of Thursday’s FIFA 2026 World Cup quarter-final against Morocco.
The decision means the Bayern Munich winger will remain one booking away from suspension when Les Bleus face the Atlas Lions in Boston.
Should Olise receive another yellow card against Morocco and France progress to the semi-finals, he will miss the last-four clash through suspension.
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France had asked FIFA to review the caution Olise received during the closing stages of their 1-0 Round of 16 victory over Paraguay, arguing that the incident did not warrant a booking.
The winger was shown a yellow card following an altercation with Paraguay midfielder Matías Galarza. Replays reportedly showed Olise grabbing Galarza’s shirt but making no contact with his head, prompting the French Football Federation to challenge the referee’s decision.
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France’s head coach Didier Deschamps confirmed FIFA’s ruling during his pre-match press conference on Wednesday.
“There was no change when it comes to Olise’s yellow card. We received FIFA’s decision this morning that the yellow card was maintained,” Deschamps said.
While the ruling does not prevent Olise from featuring against Morocco, it leaves the France international walking a disciplinary tightrope in one of his country’s biggest matches of the tournament.
The winger will need to carefully manage every tackle, challenge and reaction to avoid picking up another caution that would rule him out of a potential semi-final.
France had hoped FIFA would rescind the booking, believing the decision was harsh and could affect their chances of mounting another deep World Cup run.
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