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Referees step to forefront
Officials overshadow action with red cards
Posted: Thursday June 18, 1998 09:12 PM
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Referees have responded to criticism from FIFA with more red cards, five of which were handed out in Thursday's matches (AP) |
ATLANTA (CNN/SI) -- The first week of the World Cup was filled with
color from the teams, the fans, seemingly everyone except the referees.
Thursday the officials lashed out with a color of their own -- red. Five
red cards were handed out in the two matches as the referees responded to
criticism from FIFA the only way they could, by enforcing the rules and
enforcing them strongly. Denmark and South
Africa, who played to a 1-1 draw, had to finish the match with just 19
players, and France lost its
captain Zinedine Zidane when he decided he was going to step on a South
African player who attempted to tackle him. The Zidane call was a
no-brainer, but the other four red cards Thursday were calls that might not
have been made four years ago in the last World Cup. For that matter, they
might not have been made three days ago if not for complaints from FIFA and
Michel Platini that referees were ignoring the new edict to give red cards
to players for dangerous tackles from behind. This will certainly remain
a hot topic over the next few days at the least. The severity of a tackle
is a judgement call and one that referees seemed to be doing a good job on
before FIFA waded into fray. Now, with referees worried that FIFA will not
use them again if they do not enforce the edict, are we going to end up
with red cards in nearly every game? The fortunate thing Thursday was
that the red cards did not significantly affect the action on the pitch.
The France game was a blowout regardless, and both goals had been scored in
the Denmark-South
Africa draw when Colombian
referee John Jairo Toro Rendon got red card happy in the last 25 minutes of
the match. That's not to say the two referees' actions will not play a
big role in who advances from Group B. Five players will not suit up for
their teams when the four squads return to the pitch for the final two
first-round matches, which will no doubt change coaches' strategies, and
players are certain to be more cautious in an attempt to make sure they do
not pick up a red card. If the players on all 28 teams begin playing
differently Friday because of Thursday's actions, then FIFA has gained what
it wanted -- more offensive-minded soccer. But what are the chances of
that? That remains the big question along with the matter of whether or not
referees will continue to hand out red cards at a record pace. But
enough of the officials, let's get back to the actual action in Thursday's
games, which saw France lose two valuable players in its blowout of Saudi
Arabia and provided South Africa with its first finals goal ever. As
discussed earlier, France lost Zidane for its final group match when the
midfielder picked up a red card late in the second half of France's 4-0
romp past Saudi Arabia. The bigger loss for the French, though, came in the
first half when striker Christophe Dugarry had to leave the game with a
strained right hamstring. He will likely miss the next game, and those
injuries tend to linger, leaving Dugarry's status for the rest of the
tournament in doubt. Not that the French have had trouble scoring
anyway. They lead the finals with seven goals in two games. Thursday, it
was the young guys turn to provide the scoring. David Trezeguet and Thierry
Henry, both 20 years of age, scored three of France's three goals, and
continued to answer their countrymen's question of where would France's
offense come from. France is now assured a spot in the second round,
and, providing it does not lose to Denmark, it will take the top spot in
Group B. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile has zero points after two games and can
make plane reservations to go home after its match with South Africa.
Denmark's 1-1 draw with South Africa leaves the South Africans clinging
to a slim hope of getting into the second round. For that to happen, South
Africa would have to beat Saudi Arabia and Denmark would have to lose to
France, and the aggregate scores of those two games would have to erase
South Africa's three goal differential it currently trails Denmark by.
Not likely. Still, it was nice to see the joy which South Africa
brought to this finals after years of being left out for political reasons.
The South Africans will be back, and they will only get better in time.
Player of the Day: Thierry Henry. The 20-year-old French lad
tallied two goals against Saudi Arabia, picking up the slack when Dugarry
went out in the 28th minute with a hamstring pull. French fears over who
will score for their country have been assuaged in their first two games
with Henry scoring three, leaving him tied for the World Cup lead.
Goal of the Day: Benedict McCarthy. South Africans have waited
seemingly forever for McCarthy's score, their country's first in finals
play. Running onto Shaun Bartlett's backheel touch pass, McCarthy
slotted the ball between Danish goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel's legs, and the
celebration was on. McCarthy ran to the corner flag, and did his little
dance before being mobbed by his teammates. It was a refreshing moment to
see a black man score a goal in World Cup play for South Africa.
Quote of the Day: "The referee killed the game." -- South
Africa's Benedict McCarthy discussing the Denmark-Saudia Arabia game which
had three red cards Outlook for Friday: Return to Group D,
otherwise known as the group of death. Spain will be
desperate for a win when it takes the pitch against Paraguay. A
loss would likely eliminate the Spaniards, and there's no telling if their
passports would still be valid when they attempted to cross the border.
While more talented than Paraguay, Spain must patch up the holes in its
defense that led to three Nigerian goals
if it hopes to come out with a win. The other match features the
deliberate Bulgarians
against the always attacking Nigerians, who just a week and a half ago were
trying to fire their coach -- Bora Milutinovic. It seems Milutinovic
wanted the Nigerians to play a more defensive, less go for broke style of
football, and if there is one thing the Nigerians do, it is go for broke.
Their two goals in the last 20 minutes against Spain were evidence of that.
A wise man would not get near the Nigeria-Bulgaria match when picking
one of Friday's games, Spain is such an easy pick over Paraguay. Then
again, a wise man doesn't pick Saudi Arabia to draw with France. So, a
bold pick is needed to erase those bad memories. The pick for Friday is
Bulgaria and not because Nigeria has only played well once over the past
month. No, Bulgaria will knock off Nigeria because it has a capable
offense, and an impressive defense. Go with Bulgaria 1-0, setting up a mess
in Group D.
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