World Cup referee torn apart as French media hammer '1/10' official who 'completely lost it'

World Cup referee torn apart as French media hammer '1/10' official who 'completely lost it' World Cup referee Ilgiz Tantashev has been slammed for his role in France's 1-0 win over Paraguay on Saturday The referee who officiated France's last-16 victory over Paraguay has come in for fierce criticism from sections of the French media. Ilgiz Tantashev, 42, from Uzbekistan, was judged to have lost control of the fiery encounter, which was won by Les Bleus thanks to Kylian Mbappe's 70th-minute penalty. The South American side managed to avoid any bookings in the World Cup clash, despite agitating their opponents with a series of aggressive challenges. Three French players were booked, however. French outlet L'Equipe gave the official a shocking 1/10 rating. They wrote: "The referee of the Paraguay–France match received the worst possible rating in our newspaper. He completely botched his game, issuing no cards to the Paraguay players." Access Sport were equally condemning. They said: "The Uzbek referee was completely out of his depth, unable to distinguish right from wrong. He fell into the Paraguayan trap. A complete disaster." Tantashev struggled to contain the game on numerous occasions. A melee had to be broken up twice earlier in the clash. In the 35th minute, the teams were separated following a foul on Mbappe, which prompted the French superstar to push his opponent. Get the latest World Cup news straight to your inbox by signing up to our Make Football Great Again newsletter now! More tension boiled over between both sets of players during the second-half hydration break. Tempers also flared at the full-time whistle with Paraguay's Gustavo Velazquez having to be separated from opposition players. Tantashev has been officiating at a World Cup for the first time. He has already been seen in action in two matches: Scotland's 1-0 defeat to Morocco and the 3-3 draw between Algeria and Austria. He is a highly regarded referee, having officiated four matches at the 2024 Paris Olympics and two Asian Football Confederation Champions League finals. Various French players were unhappy with his performance, however. "I think the referee could have given a few yellow cards; that might have calmed them down a bit," Arsenal's William Saliba said afterwards. Manchester City's Rayen Cherki said: "The refereeing? I have nothing to say. You saw for yourselves. How many fouls were there? 30, 40? Zero yellow cards (for the Paraguayan players)? It doesn't matter, we're in the quarterfinals." Pundits alike were in shock, while some fans even called on FIFA to suspend Tantashev. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, in his role as a pundit on Fox, said: "It was a different challenge for France today; it was about not responding to provocations and remaining calm in the face of the tactics used by Paraguay. I would have given four red cards in this match." France will take on Morocco on Thursday, July 9 for a place in the World Cup semi-final following their win. The African side defeated Canada earlier on Saturday, 3-0. [Image text:] MBAPPE 10 EnCISO