The box score will say France beat Paraguay 1-0 in the World Cup. But anyone who watched the game in Philadelphia knows the score doesn’t tell the full story. What happened on that field was less a soccer match and more a sanctioned street fight — and the referee let it happen.
Let’s start with the moment that lit up social media after the final whistle. Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill wound up and fired a ball directly into Kylian Mbappé’s back near the center circle. Gill told ESPN he was hot because France’s captain ignored his attempt to shake hands on the pitch. That’s his explanation. It’s not a good one.
But that incident didn’t come out of nowhere. It was the logical endpoint of 90-plus minutes where Paraguayan players seemed to treat the match as a chance to test the limits of what they could get away with. The answer, apparently, was pretty much everything.
Ilgiz Tantashev was the referee in charge. By the time it was over, a scathing editorial in The Paper called his performance an utter disgrace and accused him of letting the game be played under “prison rules.” That’s not hyperbole when you look at what actually happened on the field.
Paraguay completed just 62 passes total. They weren’t trying to play the ball. They were trying to play the man — kicking, clawing, scratching their way through the match while Tantashev mostly watched.
The VAR penalty and the comedy that followed
When the video assistant referee finally forced Tantashev to award France a penalty, Paraguay defender Gustavo Velázquez led a bizarre attempt to tamper with the penalty spot. It was almost farcical — except for the fact that it worked to break France’s rhythm.
Later in the match, Matías Galarza punched Jules Koundé square in the face. No card. No whistle. Nothing. Tantashev just let it go.
And here’s the part that made fans furious: France got the only three yellow cards of the entire match. Three. Paraguay got zero. That’s not officiating. That’s negligence.
Fans and pundits had the same reaction
Online backlash came fast. On Bluesky, writer Zito pointed out that Koundé’s punch, Dayot Upamecano getting elbowed, and Mbappé being repeatedly chopped and stomped all went unpunished. At the same time, Michael Olise got a yellow card after a Paraguayan player flopped. That’s the kind of inconsistency that drives people crazy.
On X, user @AtriA33AirtA called Galarza the most repulsive player of the tournament and argued that Tantashev’s indifference was putting players at real risk of major injuries. That’s not an overreaction. When players realize they can do anything without consequences, someone eventually gets hurt badly.
France escaped with the win and a clean bill of health this time. But the conversation isn’t about the result. It’s about how much a referee can let slide before the sport stops being soccer and starts being something else entirely.
Leave a Comment