Morocco Manager Hervé Renard Defends Referee Despite VAR Controversy During Draw With Spain

Morocco manager Hervé Renard has moved to defend referee Ravshan Irmatov after further VAR controversy denied his side a World Cupupset against Spain.

Speaking after the match, Renard told reporters (via Goal) that he would prefer to focus on the result and praised his players for their World Cup exploits so far this summer.

His calm manner is to be commended, considering his team had just been through a game that saw six of their players booked, plus a controversial late goal that was awarded via VAR - after the linesman had initially flagged for offside.

"It is difficult to be a referee," Renard told reporters. "I said what I wanted to say after the previous match and now I think we have to get focused and concentrate on what is the most important thing: the result.

"We would have loved to win, it's why we came here tonight. We suffered just like any team that plays them. When you look at their line-up it's a mix of Barcelona and Real Madrid, so these are exceptional, outstanding players. Our players should be commended, the whole team should be commended for this World Cup.

"It's 20 years since we went to a World Cup and we need some experience to progress. But we've shown we can take on two of the best teams in the world, Portugal and Spain, and we came to represent Morocco in a World Cup."

However, the Morocco manager was still keen to clear up his views on the controversial decisions, saying his only problem was with the corner that led to Spain's second equaliser.

"Regarding the various yellow cards, I think a number of cards were committed that did deserve a yellow card, but maybe not all of them," Renard said. "We were a bit upset that Pique was not booked when he used both feet but maybe this is not the most important aspect.

"The only question I'd like to raise is on the second equalising goal, we expect a corner on one side and it's played on the other side. I can't say if this is allowed. If it is not allowed then there is a major mistake.

"If it is allowed, we checked [the offside call] with VAR so we won't challenge, but are we allowed to use a corner to take it on one side when the ball went out on the other?

"I checked with the referees but their door was closed."