The French team finds itself at the heart of a controversy after its defeat against Iran

Already qualified for the round of 16, the Blues lost the decisive match for first place against the Iranians (1-4) on Sunday. Several nations lodged a complaint, accusing them of having deliberately sought to lose.

This is a match that is causing a stir. For the last match of Group F, France faced Iran on Sunday, September 24. With two wins in their first two matches, both teams already had their qualification in the bag, but were fighting for the top of their group. A first place that did not necessarily suit the two nations, because it meant finding themselves in the same part of the table as Brazil, the big favorite of the competition, and Spain. By losing 4-1, the French finished second in their group, inheriting Thailand in the round of 16, and a more affordable table. This match has been much talked about in recent days, with several teams accusing the two countries of having played to lose.

France-Iran, a “preparation match”

The two teams were tied for a long time, but failed to score in the first half. Iran, the world’s fourth-ranked nation, only opened the scoring after the break (25th), on a positioning error by the French goalkeeper, and then went on to score a series of goals (28th, 30th, 37th). The French team only found the back of the net once and lost the match (1-4).

At the end of the match, during the press conference, the coach of the French team, Raphaël Raynaud, declared that he was “aware of not having offered the most beautiful of shows” and mentioned in particular the “fatigue” of his players. He saw this match as “apreparation for the eighth grade“, A “bonus match“This lack of intensity and risk-taking has alerted several competing selections from France and Iran.

Heavy accusations

After the match, Thailand coach Miguel Rodrigo took to social media to complain about the performance of both teams.Iran and France, coaches and players, have dishonored my sport. You are a global disgrace” he wrote on Xaccompanying his message with a video of Iran’s first goal. Miguel Rodrigo then went one better by sharing a compilation of bad actions during the match.

Thailand, the next opponent of the Blues, declared that they wanted to lodge a protest. Libya, eliminated from the competition, denounced through the voice of its coach Ricardo Iñiguez“a rigged match“. Paraguay wanted to obtain the exclusion of France and Iran for unsportsmanlike conduct. FIFA confirmed to franceinfo: sport to be “aware of the complaints filed by the teams participating in the Futsal World Cup regarding the Group F match between France and Iran“, but does not wish to give further details at this time.

Much ado about nothing?

Third games without major stakes are not uncommon in international competitions. And sanctions are non-existent when a team decides to line up its “hairdressers” (substitutes) in order to rest its regular players for the rest of the competition, during a football World Cup for example. If, in the FIFA regulations, the “lack of integrity” may be synonymous with exclusion from the competition, Ouest France claims this Tuesday that this will not be the case for France. On the Blues side, there is no particular concern, and it is affirmed to franceinfo: sport that the staff remains focused on the preparation of the eighth final against Thailand, which will take place on September 27.