45 TOGFRA Larrionda

After two disappointing draws and the humiliating elimination of 2002 in their minds, France had to win their final group stage match against already eliminated Togo with 2-0 to advance for sure. They did just that, but had to work for it.

After Angola – Portugal, this was the second clash between former colonial power and former colony for the Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda. While competitive, the match wasn’t overly challenging for Larrionda, who chose a rather lenient line when it came to smaller tactical offences – and later on dissent. It was a good decision and he never really was troubled in a mostly fair match.

His foul detection was not always faultless and while the cards given were correct, a late foul after the ball had left the field should have at least resulted in a warning (23’) and he missed a clear booking for a stamp (84’). Still, it was a decent performance by Larrionda, who stayed in the background as the game allowed him to.

The same cannot be said for AR1 Wálter Rial who made several wrong offside decisions (14’, 35’, 50’) – all of them fairly crucial and the first one even cancelling a French goal. He wasn’t always mistaken (15’, 64’, 90+1’), but the number of important mistakes was far too high. AR2 Pablo Fandino was much less challenged and without mistakes.

Jorge Larrionda - 8,3 Wálter Rial - 7,4 Pablo Fandino - 8,4 Carlos Chandía Rodrigo González URU - CHI	Togo 0-2 France Group Stage
Aziawonou (37') - SPA (Tripping) Mamam (44') - SPA (Holding) Salifou (88') - Dissent	Makélélé (30') - Reckless sliding tackle