Saliba: We Knew This, Ref Was Lenient with Uruguay Players

William Saliba, France's defender, confirmed that Paraguay players tried to provoke the "Les Bleus" throughout the match, which ended with France winning 1-0 in the Round of 16 of the World Cup. He pointed out that the referee was lenient with the strong tackles committed by the opponents.

After the victory and qualification for the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup, Saliba said: "It wasn't an easy match, and we knew in advance the nature of the team we would face. The coach told us they would try to provoke us and challenge us physically to throw us off our game."

He added: "They did indeed provoke us, but we maintained our focus until the end. Although we felt anger at times, we didn't receive any red cards, which is a positive thing."

Regarding the referee's performance, he concluded: "I believe they deserved to receive some yellow cards. I don't want to go into details, but there were situations where the opponents should have been punished, and that's why they continued to commit fouls until the end of the match."