the hand

Before the opening whistle, Henry maneuvers the ball with his hand, France scores and Ireland stays out of the World Cup.

The Hand comes in against Uruguay after 71 minutes. We've all seen it warm up by the side of the field.

In the 88th minute, The Hand indignantly calls for a penalty due to contact of the ball with an Uruguayan defender's hand inside the box. The replay shows that the entire arm of the Uruguayan is pressed against his body when the ball strikes it.

south africa 1 - mexico 1

Siphiwe Tshabalala, South Africa's number 8, inaugurates this blog with the first dive of the World Cup. Early on, in the 15th minute of play, he charges from the left, about 10 meters shy of the penalty box, and finding the welcoming arm of a Mexican defender, plunges to the ground like a crucified Christ. The referee blows the whistle. It's a foul, for sure, but the early dive is a good omen and very much appreciated.

Javier Aguirre, de Mexican coach, elbows the air violently in the 24th minute, and the tv producers give him to us in slow motion. No idea to whom the gesture is directed, if it's to the referee, in order to educate him about the plight of his players, or if it's to one of his players, in order to remind him of a lesson.

In the 55th minute, about six South African players celebrate the tournament's first goal with a dance that brings to mind the dance in Bande à part, Jean-Luc Godard's movie.

The referee Irmatov will not award a penalty to South Africa in the 77th minute. He must've seen the foul. But he looks the other way, and that's theater.