Nothing is going right for the French in South Africa. Only French fries seem to be holding their own here. The Les Bleus have become a laughing stock after their players boycotted a training session on Sunday like a bunch of petulant primary school students.
Now, French referee Stephane Lannoy is facing the heat after his dreadful performance in the Brazil-Ivory Coast match. His failure to notice Luis Fabiano’s hand-ball in the build-up to Brazil’s second goal stuck out like a sore thumb.
Ivory Coast’s Swedish coach Sven-Goran Eriksson was scathing in his criticism of the official. "It was a free goal for Brazil. Fabiano used his hands twice," he raged.
Lannoy was under fire from Eriksson’s counterpart, Dunga, as well. The Brazilian argued that Kaka’s second yellow was harsh. "Kaka didn’t commit a foul. Indeed, he was the victim. But the referee chose to punish him, which was totally unjustified," the Selecao coach added.
Lannoy was whistle-happy from the start. But his ‘authority’ didn’t bear him any fruit, as the match threatened to degenerate into a street fight towards the end.
The Frenchman wanted to be a hero, but he ended up a villain in the eyes of many, most notably Ivory Coast fans. His penchant for blowing the whistle for minor infractions stood in contrast to his failure to notice the blatant foul of Fabiano.