France coach Didier Deschamps has hit out at the "aggressive" treatment of Franck Ribery during Friday's defeat to Ukraine in the first leg of their World Cup qualifying playoff.

Ribery failed to make an impact in the game in Kiev as Les Bleus slumped to a 2-0 loss.

However, Deschamps believes that the winger was unfairly targeted by the Ukrainians throughout the encounter.

"Obviously, Ukraine knew how dangerous Ribery could be. They were very aggressive toward him. They made a lot of fouls that went unpunished," he told L'Equipe.

"Things were very difficult as there was not a lot of space."

France welcome Ukraine to Paris for the second leg on Tuesday.

Written by
Jack Prescott