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12 fouls. Zero yellow cards.
12 fouls. Zero yellow cards.
In the early hours of July 5th, Beijing time, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. The Paraguayans unleashed elbows, shoves, and stamps on Mbappé, but referee Ilgiz Tantashev didn't even reach for a card.
France, on the other hand, picked up three yellow cards.
Paraguay had 19% possession. The entire team was welded to their penalty area, passing the ball like prayer beads to the French, then trading their bodies for every challenge.
France's expected goals in the first half was 0.15. With 80% possession, they didn't register a single shot on target.
For 80 minutes, they circled the box, while opponents broke up the game with fouls. Tantashev chose to be a bystander.
After the match, Reddit erupted: "France gets three yellows, Paraguay gets none. That's clearly a biased call."
The outrage felt justified. But after digging into his record, the blame can't be pinned entirely on "bias."
Tantashev was born in 1984 and earned his FIFA badge in 2013. Over 308 matches in his career, he's issued 1,257 yellow cards, averaging 4.1 per game. By that rate, he's never been a peacemaker.
RMC Sport's pre-match analysis made it clear: he's "known for encouraging the flow of the game." In this World Cup's group stage, he officiated Scotland 0-1 Morocco and Algeria 3-3 Austria, totaling just three yellow cards across both matches, an average of 1.5 per game. His tolerance was high, but consistent.
This "minimal intervention" philosophy clashed head-on with Paraguay's meat grinder, jamming the gears.
Paraguay's tactical board had no "counterattack." With 19% possession, the ball was at France's feet 80% of the time. The Paraguayans' job was to go in and chop. Those elbows on Mbappé might not have drawn a card in the Premier League, but in a World Cup knockout match, with the opponent's emotions already fraying, a referee not showing a card is like issuing a license to the defense: keep hacking.
Tantashev wanted to keep the game flowing; Paraguay was determined to shatter it into pieces.
This Uzbek referee is actually familiar to the Chinese Football Association.
In September 2025, the CFA invited him to officiate Shanghai Shenhua vs. Chengdu Rongcheng. In October, he was brought in again for Shandong Taishan vs. Shanghai Port. Two crucial CSL title-deciding matches, specially flown in from Uzbekistan to keep order. That same year, he also officiated the AFC Champions League Elite final, with Ma Ning serving as the fourth official.
AFC recognized him; the CFA trusted him. Less than a year later, he was trending worldwide as fans cursed him out during a World Cup round-of-16 match.
The intensity of CSL title fights is nowhere near the level of South American teams throwing their bodies on the line in a World Cup knockout. Tantashev could "encourage flow" in the CSL because CSL players aren't ruthless enough to treat fouls like breathing. In the Philadelphia night, the Paraguayans taught him a lesson.
Go back a year further, to the 2024 Paris Olympics men's football quarterfinal.
Tantashev officiated France U23 vs. Argentina. That match, he handed out 10 yellow cards and 1 red, sending off Enzo Millot. The场面 was fiery, but he kept it under control.
Two years later, facing the senior French national team, he looked like he'd forgotten his cards at home against Paraguay's rough play. Same referee, same opponent country, two major tournaments, and the disciplinary scale differed by six yellow cards and one red.
In the Olympics, both teams wanted to win and were attacking, giving him room to "encourage flow." In Philadelphia, one side didn't want to play football at all, and his toolkit had no plan for a defensive wall.
In the 66th minute, Doué cut inside the box and was tripped by Gómez. VAR intervened. Penalty.
In the 68th minute, Mbappé stepped up and scored. 1-0.
It was Mbappé's 19th World Cup goal, just one behind Messi's 20. He scored 7 in this tournament, with 11 knockout-stage goals, continuing to break his own records.
He was kicked countless times throughout the match, but never lost his cool. After scoring the penalty, his face was expressionless.
Cherki spoke after the match, acknowledging the refereeing sparked debate, but kept his words tight: the victory was what mattered.
The referee was poor, but we won, so no complaints.
Mbappé took 12 hits without a word. Tantashev watched 12 fouls without a card.
Paraguay, with 19% possession and 12 fouls without a single yellow, dragged France into the mud. The French climbed out thanks to a penalty.
The final whistle blew. The scoreboard read 1-0. The stats column showed 12 to 0. Fouls outnumbered yellow cards.