2026 World Cup: ‘I won’t apologize’ – Paraguay coach, Alfaro on insults on France’s Deschamps

Paraguay head coach, Gustavo Alfaro, has stated that he will not extend an apology to his French counterpart, Didier Deschamps, regarding the insults directed at the Frenchman from the Paraguay bench during their Round of Sixteen match on Saturday.

The coach maintained that he did not hear any derogatory remarks from his bench towards Deschamps and therefore sees no reason to apologise for something he is unaware of.

Deschamps had raised concerns about insults coming from the Paraguay bench during his press conference following the match.

The match was overshadowed by controversial decisions made by Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev, who issued three yellow cards to players of Les Bleus, while none were given to La Albiroja.

Gustavo Valazquez appeared to have kicked Mbappe, leaving him on the ground, while Matias Galarza also went unpunished for a foul on the French captain and another on Jules Kounde.

“I could have done without the insults on the bench. Especially some of them,” Deschamps said (as per Football 365).

However, Alvaro had a different version of things, “Football isn’t war. I’m not going to apologise for something that, to my knowledge, didn’t happen. However, I am completely opposed to this kind of behaviour. If I had heard such remarks, I would have reacted immediately myself. It’s unacceptable. I am totally against it.”

“The first thing I did after the final whistle was to go and find Didier Deschamps. I wished him all the best in reaching the final and becoming world champion. I had already told him before the match: he has a fantastic team.”

Deschamps has taken Les Bleus to four straight quarter-finals, including consecutive finals, as Kylian Mbappe and Co. look to add to their 1998 and 2018 titles.