Losing the match and blaming the referee? Spain's head coach hits back at Deschamps: Only the disappointed make excuses, we also had a goal disallowed.

In the first semifinal of the World Cup, which ended on July 15th Beijing time, the heavily favored French team lost 0-2 to Spain, failing to reach the semifinals for the third consecutive time.

After the match, French coach Deschamps openly questioned the referee's ability, saying he was not fit to officiate a World Cup semifinal. In response, Spain's coach De la Fuente hit back, saying that only those who are dissatisfied will keep making excuses.

In this match, France was awarded a penalty early on, but French players including Mbappe strongly questioned whether Digne's tackle on Yamal actually merited a penalty. In response, De la Fuente retorted: "When the results aren't what we want, everyone can always find some excuses."

"If we talk about officiating issues, we have also experienced tough moments with refereeing decisions. In the group match against Uruguay, the referee allowed the opponent's fouls, but we still won the game. I believe we must always control the game, not be influenced by the referee, and not let it slip out of our hands."

"Of course,if, as Deschamps said, then both sides have suffered. I totally don't think the situation was biased towards either side. In fact, we had a goal disallowed, and there were some very marginal situations, especially in a few offside calls.However, I don't have time to think about the referee now. What I really hope is that, obviously, all of us can improve—whether referees, VAR, ourselves, or everyone who makes this football feast happen—let each of us do a little better every day, that's all."

Indeed, although the penalty awarded to France in this match was somewhat controversial, Spain's goal from Yamal in the second half was also disallowed for offside by a narrow margin, and Olise's stamp on Rodrigo seemed to have escaped a red card. The Salvadoran referee for this match indeed did not clearly favor either side.