Eagle-eyed Larrionda in control of fiery match

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The Moroccan crowd were a happy crowd at first, not entirely friendly, whistling during the rendition of the Nigerian national anthem and whenever the ball was in Nigerian possession, but cheerful nonetheless. This mood turned ugly when Nigeria scored their first goal (TAIWO Taye, 34'). Water bottles were thrown at the Nigerian goalkeeper, one of which hit him full on the back of the head. During the game Moroccan fans even found their way onto the pitch several times.

Eagle-eyed

In the midst of all this Larrionda managed to keep this match a match. A lot happened on the pitch as well. Both teams full on the attack and not queasy when it came to making a foul here and there. The Uruguayan referee prooved eagle-eyed when it came to discerning between the true fouls and the faked ones. Another referee might have resorted to showing lots of cards, to impose his authority, but Larrionda kept them in his pocket most of the time, which kept the pace of the match up. The two red cards he did show near the end of the match were entirely justifiied and necessary.

Two Moroccan players sent off

The Nigerians went on to score two more excellent goals (ADEFEMI Olubayo, 70' , OGBUKE Chinedu, 75') which left the Moroccan players dazed and confused. Two players got so overwrought they resorted to kicking their opponents (one of them even spitting at his victim) and just had to be sent off.

Riots in Kerkrade

After the match, angry Moroccans rioted against the Dutch police outside the stadium. A number of arrests were made as police battled to bring the situation under control. Four Moroccan hooligans later plundered a petrol station in the nearby town of Heerlen.