World Rugby - as reported in Midi Olympique - have listed five major refereeing errors made in last weekend's Rugby World Cup quarter-final between France and South Africa.
Following the game, there were major complaints from French fans over decisions made by referee Ben O'Keefe and his team, with France captain Antoine Dupont also criticising the standard of officiating.
South Africa v France: Big Decisions In Rugby World Cup Quarter-Final
South Africa winger Cheslin Kolbe was widely praised for a game changing conversion charge down Thomas Ramos, but this turned out to be one of the calls that was listed as a mistake in the review from World Rugby.
Sûrement la plus grosse erreur du match. En avant délibéré de Etzebeth (en arrière d’après Mr O’Keefe 🤥)
Dernier défenseur = carton jaune + essai de pénalité. pic.twitter.com/6VX5EOALev— Kelian Cattaneo (@KelianCa07) October 15, 2023
READ HERE: Cheslin Kolbe Conversion Block On Ramos Was Seemingly All Part Of South Africa's Plan
READ HERE: South Africans Have Theory Explaining Tom Curry Racism Allegation
Other mistakes included the late penalty awarded to Kwagga Smith, which resulted in the three points that gave South Africa the lead.
The review also stated that both Pieter-Steph du Toit and Damian Penaud should have been yellow carded for head contact with Jonathan Danty and Eben Etzebeth, respectively.
According to World Rugby South Africa should also have been awarded a penalty for an infringement from Cameron Woki late in the game - an incident which saw France given the penalty when O'Keefe deemed that Faf de Klerk had purposely thrown the ball into Woki to milk a penalty.
Interestingly the controversial Etzebeth knock back was not mentioned.
READ HERE: Rugby Fans Call World Cup Draw Into Question Once More After One Sided Semi-Final
Rugby World Cup : Dodgy Decisions In France Vs South Africa
WOW! #RWC2023 | #FRAvRSA pic.twitter.com/aVj0M4UUyq
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 15, 2023
READ HERE: Rassie Erasmus Hits Out At Shocking Abuse Aimed At Star Scrum-Half
"What did you think from the outside? It's hard to say because there's a lot of disappointment and frustration," said France captain Antoine Dupont after the match.
"We want to see the images again - which will give us even more disappointment and even more frustration - but I think some clear and obvious things weren’t whistled.
"I don't know if the match was lost at that point, but at crucial moments, we could have had a penalty. When you’ve gone forward 60 metres and you’re slowed down in the rucks, it's pretty easy to whistle.
"I don't want to sound bitter, moaning about the refereeing because we lost the match, but I'm not sure the refereeing was up to the challenge.
SEE ALSO: New Footage Shows Reason for Altercation After Full Time in England v South Africa
