By Patrick Vignal
KNYSNA, South Africa (Reuters) - France must make the right fouls at the right time to avoid being booked by pernickety World Cup referees, defender Eric Abidal said on Sunday.
France picked three yellow cards, for Patrice Evra, Franck Ribery and Jeremy Toulalan, in their opening 0-0 draw with Uruguay in Cape Town on Friday.
"Referees pay more attention to detail during the first few matches and will put their hands to their pockets more easily," Abidal told reporters at France's base in Knysna, Western Cape.
"It's a problem, especially if you look at how we took those yellow cards," he added. "It's up to us to be more intelligent and to make the right fouls when we need to."
France next face Mexico and South Africa in Group A.
(Editing by Jon Bramley)
