France – South Africa: transformation blocked, forward voluntary… Ben O'Keeffe's refereeing is controversial

“France – South Africa: controlled transformation, voluntary forward… Ben O'Keeffe's arbitration is controversial”

Despite superiority South Africa in the fight, several decisions by the referee could have tipped the match.

France 28: 29

South Africa Live

3:45 p.m. – End of live!

Thanks to; all and all everyone for following us for this live from the last quarter-final of the World Cup. The XV of France leaves its World Cup after a terrible defeat against South Africa with a score of 28 to 29.

3:00 p.m. – Six departures for the XV of France

In addition to Romain Taofifenua and Uini Atonio, who are retiring internationally, four members of the French staff will leave the French XV after this World Cup. Karim Ghezal (co-coach of the conquest), Laurent Labit (coach of the attack), Thibault Giroud (director of performance) and Philippe Turblin (doctor) close their adventure with the French rugby team after this defeat against France. South Africa (28-29). 

14:15 – Mauvaka: "The South Africans entered on the sides or did not come out"

Peato Mauvaka, hooker for the Blues, returned to the press conference on refereeing, particularly in the ground game: "It wasn't two or three rucks, but all the rucks. Sometimes the South Africans entered from the sides or did not come out. We thought We had several penalties for us but it was not the case. the case." On the last offensive sequence, which he experienced from the sidelines, he says: "We keep the ball and we get a lot of playing time. We hope There was then one thing: that the referee penalized the opposing team and that did not happen. It was super hard and frustrating."

1:30 p.m. – Kolbe: "I think I respected him. the rule"

Cheslin Kolbe, the South African winger who countered the transformation of Thomas Ramos, returned to this gesture. He believes that he did not start ahead of the French striker, and that he was well within the rules: "I think I respected the rules. the rule and the law while being well on the side of law. and behind the line. So yes, for me, there is no problem and I went up. trying to do my best, as hard as I can, to try to counter the ball or make him feel (à Thomas Ramos) a little bit of pressure. […] I think that the fact of having played with Thomas (Ramos) for six years Toulouse and having taken cues on the way he kicks, helped me a little. tonight."

12:45 – Danty: "The video was released this evening." cut"

Jonathan Danty was questioned on the declaration of Dupont, who did not find anything arbitration "at the level". Danty agrees: “It’s difficult to say better (laughs). It was a bit tricky, but there is also everything that goes with it, that is to say the refereeing body, but also the people in the booths. We see from here on out the screen makes quite specific decisions where some images are cut off. It's special. I experienced the same action as before. Marseille precisely (he mentions the clearing in Du Toit's head not sanctioned by the referee nor by the video referee, editor's note). […] The video was released. cut to size that moment… The end of the match was also very difficult. complicated. The ruck areas weren't very clean… […] I know it's complicated; At the end of the match to whistle a penalty, but it's a World Cup quarter-final."

12:00 – A "consistent" arbitration and "permissive"

Alexandre Ruiz, former international referee, judges that the referee of the match, Ben O'Keeffe, was faithful to he adheres to his philosophy and is consistent in his decisions throughout the match. He explains: "He stayed there. consistent over eighty minutes: permissive in the ground game where he authorized the tacklers at leave the area, release your hands, giving them a signal. It's something he put in place from the first minute by communicating a lot. […] There are two criteria to be considered; take into account at the end of the match: match management and the history of the match, maintain consistency from start to finish. the end. He was faithful to what he has been doing since the start of his career."

11:15 – The Blues were unable to adapt?

Beyond dissected images and controversies on social networks, the arbitration was a tactical issue in this quarter-final between France and South Africa. We know that the French team works with former international referee Jérôme Garcès, who has a role to play in the game. full-time on staff to prepare players for the future. international discipline and adapt to different referees. Last night, New Zealander Ben O'Keeffe was, generally speaking, quite permissive in the rucks, on scratches and offsides. The French players perhaps should have be more aggressive, play more aggressively; the limit of the fault, taking into account the refereeing style of Ben O'Keeffe. Easier to do say that'à to do, certainly.

10:45 – Reinach: "I find that the referee was very good"

Cobus Reinach, starting scrum half for South Africa yesterday, returned to the refereeing of the match. Questioned on the statement of Antoine Dupont, skeptical about certain decisions of the arbitration body, Reinach responds: " heads or tails but I find that the referee was right. very good. He communicated very well with both teams. Afterwards, he remains a human being and no one leaves the field without having made mistakes. There was also pressure on him. I remain convinced that he did a very good job."

10:15 – Nigel Owens sympathizes with the referee

Nigel Owens, a former international referee, spoke out on X (formerly Twitter) his empathy for Ben O'Keeffe, the referee of the match, who had difficult decisions to make. take in decisive moments. He writes: "If you think there is pressure on the players in the last 7 minutes, imagine the pressure on the referee. Knowing that every decision you make or don't make will be scrutinized by everyone."

09:45 – An unsanctioned nudge ?

Among the refereeing errors noted, wrongly or wrongly reason, on social networks, there is also an elbow forward from Jessie Kriel on Antoine Dupont. The gesture visibly escaped. à the referee and the TMO (video refereeing), because he would have deserved to be judged. a penalty at a minimum.

09:13 – Danty: "It’s not the refereeing that lost the match"

This is a turning point and it is positive for South Africans. The match lasted 80 minutes. There might have been a few more boxes. It’s always easy to talk about refereeing. There were some fairly blatant situations on the pitch which did not seem to be obvious to the refereeing body. Unfortunately, to err is human. It was not the refereeing that lost the match" estimated the center of the XV of France.

08:41 – Kolisi does not want to react to the arbitration

"Arbitration ? The only thing we can do is play rugby. We can't control what the referee says. Antoine Dupont has the right to have his opinion. Overall it was a great match. Both teams were defeated. incredible, the atmosphere was crazy. When we heard the national anthem, we knew it would be extremely loud. We knew that for them, çit would be really important to win" explained the captain of South Africa.

08:10 – Why didn't the referee whistle? Ahead on the Etzebeth interception?

At the start of the match, after a thunderous start, an Etzebeth forward put an end to the game. French madness, but why didn't the referee whistle? ? After watching the action, we realize that Etzebeth really tried to kill her. to bring the ball back into his court and made it fall behind him. Ben O’Keeffe therefore logically left the game continues, allowing the Springboks to keep the ball and equalize in stride.

07:48 – Video: Dupont responds to the arbitration controversy

"There is a lot of frustration. There are clear and obvious things about it. whistle which have not been whistled. When you have an advance of 60m and you slow down a ruck, it’s easy to do. adjust. 'I don't want to act bitter. I'm not sure that the arbitration was correct. at the level this evening. Point out that this does not take away anything from the situation. the performance of the South Africans who dominated us; in the fight."

07:15 – Did Kolbe leave before? The controversial video

On the images from TF1, it seems that the first movement of Thomas Ramos' foot triggers Kolbe's race, except, the "real" The scorer's run appears to be triggered a few seconds later.

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