Zidane pulled off perhaps the most blatant dive of the tournament, but escaped a yellow card. Thuram and Vieira should have been booked, but got away with poor fouls as well. All three should have been watching the World Cup Final from the stands, but it isn't to be.
Most galling though, is the manner in which Thierry Henry has guided his team into the finals. Gallic (sorry!) theatrics at their absolute best. First there was his face-clutching collapse against Spain, which TV replays clearly proved was as egregious an act of cheating as you will see.
This was followed by his fabulous dying swan impression against Portugal, in which he paused for a second, realised he was in the box, flung his arms out, threw himself to the ground, and then looked around to see if the referee had bought it. He had.
In both cases, Henry, who has taken many a dive in the past, ingeniously follows up with an affectation of naivety and innocence, designed to convey the message that he is just an honest man, trying his best to survive in a world of thuggery.
His arrogance has never been in doubt, now we can, sadly, add the footnote that he is an out and out cheat. A shame that France, and Zidane's, tremendous performance against Brazil will be lost against this backdrop.
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