MUNICH, Germany _ Diving, cheating, simulation, gamesmanship.
Whatever you call it, France defender William Gallas will be looking out for
it when his team plays Portugal on Wednesday in the World Cup semifinals.
"You have to be attentive with the Portuguese because ... they like to dive,
so it depends on the referee," Gallas said Tuesday. "We will need to concentrate
100 percent."
Gallas, who is teammates at Chelsea with Portugal's Maniche and Ricardo
Carvalho, said Portugal uses intimidation tactics to push a player until he
snaps.
"They try to destabilize their opponents," Gallas said. "We saw that with
(Wayne) Rooney."
Rooney was sent off in the 62nd minute of England's quarterfinal loss to
Portugal when he stomped on Carvalho.
Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo ran up to the referee to protest Rooney's
actions.
"Unfortunately, Rooney may merit the red card," Gallas said. "But you saw
Ronaldo insist to the referee to send him off. I hope there will not be too many
low blows (on Wednesday). Football remains a sport."
France has six players, including Zinedine Zidane, who face suspension from
the final if they collect a yellow card against Portugal.
France will study footage of Portugal's games to learn to avoid reacting
under provocation.
"We have spoken about it," Gallas said. "I think we will work on it tonight
(Tuesday) at training, and tonight or tomorrow, with the video, we will talk
about this problem."
France coach Raymond Domenech, however, said Portugal is being unfairly
labeled.
"If you reduce them to that, then it's false," Domenech said. "They're a good
team, not just divers."
