Fuming” – Antoine Dupont blames one ‘wrong’ referee decision for France’s quarter-final defeat

In a heartbroken reaction, France’s star player, Antoine Dupont, vehemently criticised New Zealand referee Ben O’Keefe for a contentious decision that he believes significantly impacted South Africa’s thrilling victory in the quarter-finals on Sunday night. The most contentious moment of the match unfolded early, during the seventh minute when France was already seeking their second try. Eben Etzebeth of South Africa extended his hand, intercepting a pivotal pass that appeared destined for a try. Nevertheless, O’Keefe adjudged that Etzebeth had deflected the ball in a backward rather than forward direction. A short while later, the Springboks scored their own try, resulting in a 7-7 scoreline instead of what Dupont argues would have been a pivotal 14-0 lead. Dupont said: “Well, what did you think from the outside? It’s hard to talk about things because there is a lot of disappointment, a lot of frustration. We want to see the images again, which will give us even more disappointme...