Word: french
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Friday, Nov. 20, soccer's international governing body, FIFA, rejected Ireland's demands that its controversial World Cup qualifying playoff match against France Wednesday night be replayed in light of the clearly illegal play by French striker Thierry Henry that set up the goal securing France's ticket to South Africa next June. The reasoning went along with FIFA's established habit of focusing on the letter rather than spirit of its rules: if referee Martin Hansson failed to spot Henry's use of his left hand to rein in the ball - and let the ensuing goal by teammate William...
...increasing number of fans say yes. But both FIFA and its European pillar, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), have repeatedly rejected using video. Both bodies have threatened European pro leagues with dire consequences if they even test the use of replay. FIFA officials and the UEFA president, former French soccer great Michel Platini, advance a slim list of unconvincing reasons for slapping video down. The cost of such technology, they argue, would mean leagues in poorer countries wouldn't be able to use video, dividing soccer into haves and have-nots. They also claim that the time taken...
...adds two more fallible humans to the current four-person officiating teams. "Thierry Henry's handling of the ball should relaunch the debate on video in soccer, because viewing replays would have allowed officials to sanction the offense, disallow the goal and preserve the integrity of the match," former French referee Bruno Derrien told France Info radio. (Read "A 'Foreigner' Quota for Soccer...
...There is one precedent of a referee using video in soccer - and it happens to infuriate French fans, to boot. Toward the end of the 2006 World Cup final, the assistant referee peeked at a television monitor to witness a replay of French star Zinedine Zidane head-butting Italian rival Marco Materazzi to the ground. Shocked at the violence - and ignoring FIFA rules forbidding use of replays - the assistant referee signaled the offense to his unsuspecting central official, who promptly slapped Zidane with a red card. Few have faulted that sanctioning of an outrageous foul that the official never actually...
Indeed, his shunning of the limelight is probably what landed him the job. Although he is recognized in Belgium for defusing tensions between the country's Flemish and French speakers - a quality that could come in handy with the 27-member E.U. - his low profile appears to have endeared him to his initial sponsors, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The two leaders are thought to have balked at a big name like former British Prime Minister Tony Blair as E.U. President, because they feared he could become a strong rival for the spotlight. Van Rompuy...