Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev faced criticism for his officiating during the Paraguay versus France match at the recent international tournament. Observers noted that Tantashev appeared to struggle with maintaining control of the game, particularly highlighted by the fact that no Paraguayan players received yellow cards, while three were issued to members of the French squad.

Concerns were raised about the referee’s management of physical play, with some reporting that French players began to “take the law into their own hands” after what was perceived as insufficient action by the official. A key moment occurred when Tantashev failed to spot a foul by Paraguay’s Diego Gomez on France’s Desire Doue inside the penalty area. However, the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system intervened, recommending a review that ultimately led to a penalty decision.

Before the penalty kick was taken, Paraguayan player Gustavo Velazquez drew attention for damaging the penalty spot, an act some have called on tournament organizers to address. Additional controversial incidents included a robust challenge from Andres Cubas on Adrien Rabiot and a heavy tackle by Juan Jose Caceres on Kylian Mbappe that went unpunished, drawing further criticism of the referee’s oversight.

Overall, Tantashev’s performance was characterized by some as one of the poorest seen at the tournament so far, with calls for better enforcement of rules to ensure fair play and player safety in future matches.