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The International Football Federation (FIFA) on Wednesday rejected the criticism leveled by French national team coach Didier Deschamps on the level of officiating in the semi-final match against Spain, emphasizing that the referees participating in the World Cup are 'world-class'.

The head of FIFA's referees committee, Italian Pierluigi Collina, told AFP: 'In response to Deschamps' statements, who questioned whether the match referee had the necessary level to officiate a World Cup semi-final, FIFA's response is clear: yes, definitely, our referees are world-class.'

Deschamps on Tuesday questioned the level of Salvadoran referee Ivan Barton, who officiated Tuesday's match.

After his team's 2-0 loss to the European champions, he said: 'Does the referee have the required level to officiate a World Cup semi-final?... I will not answer that. It's not because we lost that I say this. There were many situations, and often they went against us as well.'

He continued: 'But the first reason remains that we were slightly below our level and less dangerous offensively than we could have been, with some technical errors and passes that could have created positions and chances.'

He added: 'We have to accept that, this is the highest level in football, even if it hurts. I don't want to deny everything that was achieved, but in this particular match, Spain showed something extra.'

Rodri France Spain

Officiating has faced several criticisms since the start of the World Cup in North America, notably from Egypt, which demanded the exclusion of French referee François Letexier due to 'gross refereeing errors' that it said favored Argentina during their 3-2 win over the Pharaohs in the round of 16.

FIFA's disciplinary committee was also a subject of controversy after it overturned a one-match suspension for Folarin Balogun, following intervention by US President Donald Trump.

This decision allowed the American striker to play against Belgium in the round of 16, a match that ended with a 4-1 victory for the 'Red Devils'.

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