Now, this past Wednesday, France and Ireland played to win a qualification to the World Cup in South Africa next year. Ireland had to score at least two goals and win the match in order to qualify, while a win for France by any number of goals would give them the spot. And the final score? Zero to one, France. But, there's a catch. While French player T. Henry was going for the ball just outside the goal post, his hand conveniently smacked the ball (keeping it from going out of bounce) in route to his foot, which allowed for a near perfect assist to William Gallas who then headed the ball right into the net. Whoosh. Goaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!!! Yeah, but a cheap shot. And in addition the the blatant hand ball issue (watch it for yourself on youtube--there's no denying it, as T. Henry says so himself), several are claiming that France was offsides. No, a replay will not occur, so the final score and France's dreams of World Cup glory will remain unchanged, though not without leaving the French with a murky and not-so-sweet victory that still has people riled up all around the world. And to make the scandal even more exciting--I mean, outrageous--authorities have begun an immense investigation to 32 matches that were supposedly fixed and 17 people have already been arrested. No wonder why the refs didn't do much about the hand ball issue they saw in the Ireland vs. France game.
And why do I care? Well, when you work with people who take soccer--or football--this seriously, you would too. Even the Swiss chef (who you'd assume to be neutral like his country) made sure to express his distaste by drawing a fantastic mural on the kitchen's white board with a few choice words included. And of course, everyone has an opinion and feels entitled to express theirs. As long as I don't get caught in a kitchen fight of food or pots or knifes, I'm good.
ah...the dark side of PASSION?
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