MICHAEL OLISE was pushed away from France’s celebrating players by his own team-mate – and fans have clocked why.
Playmaker Olise ran over to the touchline to join the huddle of French stars mobbing Ousmane Dembele, who scored the second goal in a 2-0 win over Morocco.
Fans spotted France substitute keeper Brice Samba stop Michael Olise leaving the pitch to join the celebrations
Olise put in another impressive performance as France eased through to the semi-finals Credit: Getty
But he was stopped dead in his tracks by substitute goalkeeper Brice Samba, who pushed him away.
And that is due to a little-known rule which states that for play to restart, all players, except the player taking the kick-off, must be in their own half of the field of play.
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In effect, it means that if every France player was off the pitch, Morocco would have been able to take the kick-off immediately and stroll the ball into an empty net.
A similar incident unfolded in the 2022 World Cup final, when Dayot Upamecano was shoved back onto the pitch by Theo Hernandez.
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Samba was therefore on alert to prevent a French catastrophe.
And a few eagle-eyed fans on social media managed to make sense of the incident, which appeared strange at first glance.
One wrote on X: “At least one player has to be on the field or else the opponents can restart and score easily.”
And a second added: “Look how committed the French back-up goalkeeper is. Fully dialed into the game and smart. That is how you build teams and win championships.”
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The same thing happened in the 2022 final, with Dayot Upamecano pushed back on to the pitch after Kylian Mbappe scored
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The knockout stages of the World Cup are hotting up as we head towards the business end of the tournament.
England believe football might finally be coming home after 60 years of hurt, with Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham on fire.
But the likes of France, Spain and Argentina are all serious contenders to go all the way.
Heavyweights Germany, Netherlands, Brazil and Portugal have all been knocked out.
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It was another barnstorming performance from France, who will play either Spain or Belgium in the semi-finals.
They brushed off Kylian Mbappe‘s penalty miss – after he was delayed from taking it for more than three minutes – to surge clear in the second half.
Mbappe was the first to get on the scoresheet with a sumptuous finish from range.
Dembele then added the second with a low effort into the bottom corner.
