If you’re going to lie, stay away from the World Cup Cameras

July 3rd, 2006 | by: WC Bob |

I would imagine that some of you reading this blog have probably told a fib or two during the World Cup so that you could sneak away from work to watch a match. I only hope you did a better job of lying than Youri Djorkaeff did. The French midfielder told his current bosses at Major League Soccer’s Red Bull New York that he had to leave the team to take care of an “unexpected, serious family matter in France”.

Imagine their surprise when they saw Djorkaeff sitting in the stands of the France and Brazil quarterfinal on Saturday. Perhaps you saw him too. He was sitting next to an attractive woman smiling for the cameras.

“As with any player in a situation like this, we granted his request with the understanding that he would rejoin the club immediately after the personal matter was resolved. At no point did Youri state that part of his trip was to attend the World Cup game between France and Brazil or that he had any ill-feeling toward the organization,” the team said in a statement.

Whether or not Djokaeff’s unexpected, serious family matter in France will keep him away from his job duties in the United States until after, say, Wednesday’s semifinal remains to be seen, but you can bet that his bosses will be checking out those crowd shots when they watch the match on television.

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tirusew

no one needs that sucker anyways. let him spend time with his…
http://www.worldcup-blogger.com MuhammadZainul

I see that guy too…no wonder he want to see the game. It bring his memory back. Sentimental value..maybe
Rose

Honestly, who really cares? Any American player would be doing themselves a favor by stepping on European ground…even if they are just watching a game. As an American, I have never seen American “league” play and I probably never will. Why? Because it is lousy.
http://bloguerio.blogspot.com Serguei

Oh! Something like that happened to the principal of my girlfriend’s college in 1998…
BlancaD

He should have been honest with the bosses. Make it an official leave of absence or something. Now he’s caught and it all just looks childish. To the bosses — your people don’t trust you with the truth.
Good_American

It happens all the time in soccer, not the first time. I doubt if they waould have given him persmission to go watch the game. Big deal, they will fine him a couple of thoousnads dollar and that’s it as if it never happenned. If it was one of us and they found us in this situation, then it’s adios amigos, you are fired, and you are telling me it doesn’t pay to be rich and famous!!!
Luke

This is an embarrassment for MLS, it just shows how pathetic the league is that a player left his club to watch his national side, in England it has become controversial for players to leave their club to PLAY for their countries (see African Cup of Nations), you couldn’t get away with this in the Premier League
pizzaro

worldcup is worldcup and not worldseries,I think bosses should give workers day off to watch their country play.It only happens every 4yrs.
mightie

he was a great french player and played a big role for france in winning world cup 98 and euro 2000.
dirk

Sepp Blatter should be banished from attending the finals, as should Djorkaeff. Both performances have been disgraceful at best.
Claude

France is right next door. Why couldn’t he have taken a few hours off from his family matter? It isn’t like he went to France and then attended a game in South America or Asia. Since both countries are in the EU he wouldn’t even need a passport or go through customs to travel to Germany. Maybe the problem was that he was accompanied by an attractive woman instead of an ugly one?
dirk

well, I appreciate the family matter aspect of it all; But I certainly agree, attractive is much better than ugly.
Lulu

This is like the guy in the US who got busted by his wife because he was on the “Kiss Cam” at a baseball game with someone other than his wife, who was watching the game at home…

Claude does have a point about location. However, if Youri doesn’t hightail it back to the states now, his rear is definitely vegetation.
K

I think for Djorkaeff (82 caps for France), attending to the rejeuvenation of Zidane, Barthez, Thuram, Vierra and the challenge facing his nephews Ribery, Malouda, Abidal and touching base in the stands with the injured Cisse, over a rematch against the Brasil they defeated in ‘98 and their papies defeated in ‘86 IS A FAMILY MATTER of the utmost importance.
http://endroo.blogspot.com/ endroo G

its a norm to lie to your boss in World Cups.

People will take medical leaves, unpaid leaves, family matters, personal matters, etc. We all have our own lies. Bosses know.

About Youri… he shouldn’t have gone there with a beautiful lady… even if that lady is someone he don’t know… he should’ve sit some other place to avoid the camera attention. You know the cameraman will point the lens around the stadium looking for hot chics and so happen a well known person is sitting next to her…
paschal

Its unfair to judge him without hearing his side of the story. Maybe he did his family matter alright and just stopped by to cheer up his team…who says he cant do that just because he told his bosses something else. It is different if he played in the game or did he?