The Royal Moroccan Football Federation has announced that it 'strongly protests' the performance of referee Cesar Ramos during Wednesday's World Cup semi-final with France.
Morocco's remarkable run of results at the tournament came to an end as they bowed out by a 2-0 scoreline in their last-four showdown with the defending champions.
While there could be no complaints with how France went in front, a talking point emerged later in the first half after an incident involving Sofiane Boufal and Theo Hernandez.
Despite replays appearing to show that French defender Hernandez slid in late on Boufal inside the penalty area, it was the Morocco winger who was punished, being handed a yellow card in the process.
Although VAR was able to intervene, there was no further action regarding the incident, and France came through some nervous moments to earn a second successive spot in the final.
© Reuters
Morocco will now prepare for Saturday's third-place playoff with Croatia, looking to become the first African nation to finish in such a position at the World Cup.
Nevertheless, two days before that clash, the Moroccan FA have released a statement to condemn the performance of Ramos and his fellow officials.
It read: "The Royal Moroccan Football Federation strongly protested the arbitration of the Moroccan national team match against the French national team, led by Cesar Arturo Ramos Palazuelos.
"At the same time, the arbitration is surprised that the mouse room (VAR) was not alerted to that.
© Reuters
"The Royal Moroccan Football Federation affirms that it will not hesitate to defend the rights of our team, calling for fairness in taking the necessary measures regarding the arbitral injustice practiced on the Moroccan national team in its match against the French national team, in the semi-final drawing of the World Cup."
Morocco have enjoyed a ground-breaking World Cup having only ever won two matches at the World Cup before their participation in Qatar.
In this edition, an opening-matchday draw with Croatia was followed by wins over Belgium and Canada, securing a last-16 showdown with Spain who they defeated on penalties.
Morocco then recorded a 1-0 win over Portugal in the quarter-finals before their injury-hit team were edged out by France at the Al Bayt Stadium.
No Data Analysis info
