Man in black strikes back

At 10 days it may have taken a little bit longer than expected, but yesterday we finally began to see the negative impact of Sepp Blatter's election as president of FIFA. Not content with the number of red cards being dished out over the first week of this tournament, the veteran meddler complained a couple of days ago that referees should be stricter in their application of the new rules. In Toulouse, we witnessed the consequences.

A referee who'd clearly gotten the message, and knows who has to be kept happy if he's to get on in the game, lost his grip on things and destroyed a match that was full of promise. Three red and seven yellow cards were shown by the end.

Both managers tried to steer clear of the cards issue afterwards, but Danish coach Bo Johansson, who had substitutes Miklos Molnar and Morten Wieghorst both dismissed, made it clear that this was a warning that needed to be heeded. "It's important," he made a point of saying more than once, "that whenever we think we know what our game is going to be like, we remember this match".

It will be difficult to forget for it descended into farce over the course of the second half. That was all the more regrettable as South Africa, a goal down from the 13th minute, were by then well on top of an interesting tussle that was shaping up very nicely indeed.

Phillippe Troussier's side were lucky to be still in with any sort of a shout for aside from Allan Nielsen's fine side-footed volley of Brian Laudrup's cross, the Africans had been repeatedly fleeced at the back. The younger Laudrup did the bulk of the damage, even if it was actually Martin Jorgensen and Ebbe Sand who went closest with shots against the right-hand upright.

Brian Laudrup, the recently signed Chelsea player, profited from the fact that South Africa's left full back Nyathi, who shared the responsibility for picking up the 29-year-old up with Lucas Radebe inside him, was his team's weakest player. Nyathi was by no means the only one who failed to make an impression over the course of the first period.

In midfield little was going right for the African Nations Cup finalists, while in front of goal Helman Mkhalele turned in what will surely survive as the blunder of the tournament, missing an open goal from barely a yard out after Benedict McCarthy had slipped the ball through to him from the right-hand side of the box.

McCarthy did much better himself early in the second half. John Moshoeu fed Shaun Bartlett on the edge of the area and the Cape Town Spurs striker flicked it neatly into the 20-year-old's path, There was still a lot to do and McCarthy, standing up well under pressure from Jes Hogh and Soren Colding, did all that was required, controlling well and then slipping the ball through Peter Schmeichel's legs for the goal.

It seemed it would make for a thrilling finale, but referee John Jairo Toro Rendon from Colombia had other ideas. For the next 35 minutes he took us on a bizarre diversion, booking four players in quick succession before moving on to greater things. Molnar was on the pitch for nine minutes when he went, allegedly for stamping. Alfred Phiri, on for Brendan Augustine at the break, followed him seconds later after an entanglement with Thomas Helveg.

Morten Wieghorst's expulsion, though, was the one that Blatter can really claim the credit for. A mere clip of McCarthy's heels, albeit from behind, prompted his exit five minutes from the end. Had Brendan Fortune found the net with his stunning 30-yard drive a couple of minutes into injury time, perhaps the newly-installed president would even have claimed the credit for giving a leg up to one of the game's developing nations.

Still, with there's 42 games left. More than enough for him to make his mark on these finals.