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By Harry Pratt
IN USA 94, he made his mark in the very first game of the event. Perhaps then we should be thankful for small mercies in that Mexican referee Arturo Brizio Carter was not on duty in France 98 until last night. The Central American official sparked the red card flurry in the States four years ago with a ridiculous dismissal in the curtain-raiser and, while not the initiator at this event, the first of his two dismissals at the Stade de France was an equally absurd farce.
It turned a contest between the host nation France and Saudi Arabia, always likely to be one-sided at the best of times anyway, into a complete joke.
Mohammed Al Khlaiwi's desperate attempt to intercept flying wing back Bixente Lizarazu along the left flank in the 18th minute was neither crude nor dangerous. His only crime was to be a couple of inches off target with his attempt to play the ball and that as a result clipped Lizarazu's left foot. A yellow card would have been harsh, yet Carter produced red.
Compounding matters he showed only yellow for a vicious stamp by lucky Frenchman Laurent Blanc soon after. Incredible to say the least - a point highlighted when he did do right midway through the second half and sent off captain Zinedine Zidane who, a la Eric Cantona, shoved his studs into the body of marker Faud Amin, who had done no more than win possession. Whether FIFA have the guts to practise what they preach and increase the Frenchman's automatic one-match ban, only time will tell.
Sadly for the Saudis, who battled admirably against a team superior in ability and numbers, they were 2-0 down by that stage and inevitably about to become the first also-rans of the finals. The sudden decline in refereeing standards should not surprise us. Indeed far more amazing is that it took until the ninth day for the competition to become stunted by stupid officials.
It was nauseating for the neutral and sickening for Saudis who never stood a chance without a full complement of players. They survived for a while through a combination of poor French finishing and defiant defending, but could do nothing to prevent the 38th-minute opener. Zidane, who had missed two sitters, finally weaved some magic, slotting a ball to Lizarazu on the left. His cross was perfect and there was youngster Thierry Henry on hand to tap in the first of two goals on the night that left him joint top scorer in tournament.
France then guaranteed their safe passage into the last 16 where they will most likely meet Nigeria or Spain - with another rising talent, Monaco hitman David Trezeguet, on for injured Christophe Dugarry, heading in their second after 67 minutes.
Two minutes later, Zidane was off, but instead of evening up proceedings, the controversy inspired the French to move into full flow. Henry scored again after 78 minutes, before Lizarazu was rewarded for a fine display as he rattled in a superb fourth.
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ZIDANE DESERVED TO GO SAYS COACH
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AIME JACQUET, the man who stripped 'enfant terrible' Eric Cantona of the French captaincy because of a lack of self control, left present skipper Zinedine Zidane in no doubt about his fury over the Juventus star's sending off for stamping last night. On an evening of mixed fortunes at the Stade de France the hosts, who qualified for the second round, lost midfielder Christophe Dugarry for two weeks after a hamstring.
On Zidane, Jacquet confirmed: "Zidane deserved to be sent off because you cannot behave like that on the football pitch. Players have to exercise more control and discipline."
The blow of losing Zidane, who according to Jacquet will miss two matches due to the violent conduct rule, was compounded by the news of Dugarry's impending absence. "We have not only lost him for two matches, but it looks likely that Christophe Dugarry will be out injured for a fortnight at least," groaned Jacquet, also without Newcastle-bound striker Stephane Guivarc'h due to an injury.
"Apart from those two blows I think that we played well and the players gelled well - but we still have work to do," warned Jacquet. "We've got six points, so qualification is assured. But it's very important to win the third match. I hope we play with conviction and ambition."
Saudi Arabia coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said he was too far away from the incident to make a clear judgement on Al Khlaiwi's sending off. "It looked like a very strict decision, but I couldn't really see," he said. "I think the result was a fair reflection of the difference between the two sides."
Parreira, who coached Brazil to the 1994 World Cup title, said their goal had been to reach the second round as they had done in USA 94. "But that chance has gone now,'' he sighed, before predicting that France will be strong contenders to win the tournament. ''France are a wonderful side. Anyone of their players can decide a game at any given time and I think they will go a long way in this championship."
Football365 says:Despite the injustice of the Saudi sending off, France, who had the easiest Group as well as avoiding Brazil until the final, were always going to go through. Saudi have far from disgraced themselves and can go home knowing they continue to make good progress in the world ladder.
THE MATCH STATS
World Cup Group C
France (1) 4 Saudi Arabia (0) 0
France: Barthez (6), Lizarazu (7), Blanc (7), Desailly (7), Thuram (8), Deschamps (7), Boghossian (6), Zidane (8), Diomede (6) (Djorkaeff (6) 58), Henry (7) (Pires (6) 78), Dugarry (6) (Trezeguet (7) 30).
Subs Not Used: Lama, Charbonnier, Candela, Leboeuf, Petit, Karembeu, Vieira.
Sent Off: Zidane (70).
Booked: Blanc, Lizarazu.
Goals: Henry 36, Trezeguet 68, Henry 77, Lizarazu 85.
Saudi Arabia: Al-Daeya (7), Zubromawi (7), Al-Khilaiwi (5), Sulimani (6), Al-Gahani (6) (Al-Dousari (6) 75), Anwar (6), Al-Ouairan (6), Saleh (6), Al-Jaber (7),
Al-Owairan (6) (Al-Harbi (5) 33), Al-Shahrani (6), Al-Harbi (5) (Al-Muwalid (6) 63).
Subs Not Used: Sadiq, Al-Antaif, Madani, Al-Janoubi, Al-Timiyat, Al-Mhallel, Al-Thynayan, Al-Dosari.
Sent Off: Al-Khilaiwi (19).
Booked: Al-Jaber.
Att: 75,000 (crowd rating: 8)
Referee: A Brizio Carter (Mexico) 6.
THE TALE OF THE TURF
| Team Name | | France | Saudi Arabia
| | Goals | | 4 | 0
| | Shots On Target | | 13 | 0
| | Shots Off Target | | 9 | 1
| | Blocked Shots | | 6 | 2
| | Corners | | 9 | 3
| | Fouls Conceded | | 15 | 10
| | Offsides | | 3 | 1
| | Red Cards | | 1 | 1
| | Yellow Cards | | 2 | 2
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News 3 
