Lucien Bouchardeau (18 December 1961 – 20 February 2018) was a

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

ien football referee. Born in

Niamey Niamey () is the capital and largest city of Niger. As the Niamey Urban Community (, CUN), it is a Regions of Niger, first-level division of Niger, surrounded by the Tillabéri Region, in the western part of the country. Niamey lies on the Nige ...

, he is best remembered for having officiated in 1998 a World Cup first round match between

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. He called a penalty against Chile in the 85th minute, which allowed Italy the chance to tie the match 2-2. Following the game he talked to the press about his fear he would be sacked from the tournament, which would mark the end of his career.Referee fears end of career
,

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

, 19 June 1998. He also officiated matches at the 1996 Olympics, 1997

Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six Continental football championships, continental champions ...

and the 1998 and 1996 African Cup of Nations. He died on 20 February 2018 at the age of 56 from heart failure. Fallece Lucien Bouchardeau, el polémico árbitro del Italia-Chile en Francia 1998

References

External links

Profile
1961 births 2018 deaths People from Niamey Nigerien football referees 1998 FIFA World Cup referees Olympic football referees {{Niger-footy-bio-stub