Referee Ilgiz Tantashev faces heavy criticism after World Cup match

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — The performance of Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev during the World Cup round of 16 match between France and Paraguay has drawn sharp criticism from several foreign media outlets and football experts.

French publication L'Equipe and analytical portal Archivo VAR rated the refereeing team's performance at one point out of ten. Critics argued that the referee failed to maintain control over the match and made multiple errors when evaluating on-field incidents.

It was noted that Tantashev did not react to what experts considered severe fouls committed by Paraguay's players, including challenges against Kylian Mbappe and other members of the French team. Additionally, a penalty against the Paraguayan side was only awarded after the intervention of the VAR system.

Paraguay finished the match without receiving a single yellow card, marking the first time this has occurred for the team in a World Cup since 1998. According to data provided, the South American team committed 13 fouls compared to 10 by the French. All three bookings in the match were issued to French national team players — Bradley Barcola, Kouadio Kone, and Michael Olise.

Several controversial episodes occurred during the match, including two hard fouls by Paraguay midfielder Matias Galarza Fonda, who, according to several experts, avoided a booking. The match was also marred by two mass altercations between players.

German refereeing expert Patrick Ittrich described the Uzbek official's performance as "catastrophic," while former football player Eduard Mor stated that the referee "lost the thread of the game."