FRANCE 98 – South Africa-Denmark – A. Nielsen: “There were an enormous number of bookings but it's the referee who decides”

South Africa-Denmark – A. Nielsen: “There were an enormous number of bookings but it’s the referee who decides”

18.06.98 21h09 CET

Peter MOLLER (18)

“It was an unfortunate result. I don’t understand why we didn’t keep our 1 – 0 lead. We could already have qualified. This is the first time in my career I’ve seen that kind of refereeing. It’s outrageous. But we’re very confident for the rest of the competition.”

Allan NIELSEN (7)

“It was a very intense match. We started off well but then we slacked off, letting the South Africans take the upper hand on numerous one-to-one encounters. The change came about shortly after I scored the goal. The phase of play was perfect and I was in my favourite position. But the rest of the match is another story. The game got strange. There were an enormous number of bookings, too many in my opinion; but it’s the referee who decides. Basically, this match puts us into a position where nothing is certain but we do have an edge for the last first-round game.”

Morten WIEGHORST (14)

“I’m very disappointed. I had only played for two minutes when the referee showed me a red card. I didn’t think I had touched the player and when I looked up and saw the red card, I didn’t understand what was happening. But the result was well deserved. The DENMARK team is going to have a hard time after this. But I think we’ll do fine. Everything depends on tonight’s game where the French will probably come up winners.”