Didier Deschamps' reign as France boss ended in defeat to Spain and he has been left seething with Salvadoran referee Ivan Barton.
A 2-0 loss at Dallas Stadium on Tuesday meant there was to be no fairytale ending at the World Cup for Deschamps. His Les Bleus were deservedly beaten by La Roja thanks to goals from Mikel Oyarzabal (22' P) and Pedro Porro (58').
Deschamps leaves his role as manager in bittersweet fashion ahead of Zinedine Zidane's arrival as the country's new coach. The 57-year-old has slammed Barton and questioned his appointment as referee for such a high-profile game.
'Good Enough?' - Deschamps Takes Swipe at Referee
Deschamps has been in charge of France since the summer of 2012 and oversaw his nation's World Cup win in 2018. He was looking to end his tenure as a world champion but will have to settle for a potential third-place finish.
The Frenchman took issue with several calls made during the semi-final when speaking after the game. He said (via L'Equipe): "Then I ask a question, and I'm not going to answer it: 'Is the referee good enough to officiate a World Cup semi-final?' And I'm not saying this because we lost today but there were certain situations... Often unfavorable to us as well."
Deschamps did acknowledge that his side were "a bit below par and less dangerous offensively." They were favourites heading into the game, but Kylian Mbappe and Michael Olise were noticeably not at their best.
The departing France boss said although it "hurts", he and his team "have to accept it." He's looking ahead to the third-place match, which will come up against Argentina or England, who collide in the other semi-final tomorrow night.
Although Deschamps didn't specify which decisions he felt went against the French, there were some big calls. Spain were awarded a penalty after Lucas Digne unintentionally kicked Lamine Yamal.
Barton Unworthy of World Cup Semi-Final?
Barton had taken charge of three games at the World Cup before officiating tonight's semi-final between France and Spain. His most recent outing saw him referee Switzerland's Round fo 16 penalty shootout win over Colombia.
The 35-year-old became the first referee to send a player off for covering their mouth while talking to an opponent. He sent Miguel Almiron off during Paraguay's 1-0 win over Turkiye in the group stages.
The line he gave when dishing out the red card after VAR intervened and he reviewed the incident has gone viral. He said, "After review, number 10, Paraguay, cover his mouth, decision is red card."
Corruption calls have been reignited after it appeared that referee Ivan Barton made up a new rule during Spain's World Cup semi-final win.
There was no sending off in France's defeat to Spain despite Barton's track record of strict discipline. This is his second appearance at a World Cup, having officiated at the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
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