Slaven Bilic 'fooled referee' in World Cup semi-final - and a rival player was thankful

A Slaven Bilic trick that led to the sending off of a France stalwart at the World Cup left players fuming back in 1998 - but it gave Frank Leboeuf the highlight of his career

Frank Leboeuf is forever thankful for some Slaven Bilic play-acting that that led to a straight red card for his team-mate at the 1998 World Cup - because it gave him the highlight of his career.

With hosts France leading Croatia 2-1 in their semi-final contest at the Stade de France, Laurent Blanc shoved his opponent while awaiting a corner - forcing Spanish ref Jose Maria Garcia-Aranda to make a decision.

Not getting a clear view of the incident, in which a yellow card would've sufficed, Blanc was shown a straight red - meaning he missed the final when France held on to victory.

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Although substitute defender Leboeuf wasn't overjoyed to see his team-mate depart and miss the final - it meant he started in their history win over Brazil.

Leboeuf, speaking exclusively to Ladbrokes at the launch of their World Cup Free-To-Play Halftime Quiz, said: I'm in a really strange situation with Slaven Bilic, because of what happened in that semi-final.

"After the game, I was in such a difficult position, because we'd just won, I'd come on, I was happy because I was going to be playing in the World Cup final - but that was only the case because of a trick from Slaven Bilic, who fooled the referee and got Laurent Blanc sent off. Laurent fell for it, and shouldn't have got himself into that position, so it's also his fault - but it's unfair.

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"Bilic shouldn't have done that... I told him, maybe three or four years ago. It's funny because I spoke with him on a French radio station and told him that people were thinking I must've owed Slaven money for doing what he did to Blanc in the semis, because it meant I'd play the final - I wanted him to reassure people that wasn't true! We can laugh about it now because it's all in the past.

"When we won Euro 2000, and David Trezeguet scored the Golden Goal in the final, everybody went over to Trezeguet. I went straight over to the bench, and to Laurent Blanc. I just told him I was so happy that he had the chance to play in that final, because he deserved it.

"He was okay; he was happy. He told me that he felt it was his fault, because he reacted to Bilic's trick. And while the European Championship is different to the World Cup, I was just so happy Blanc got to experience it.

"It's a tricky situation with Bilic, and while I'll never support what he did to Blanc - he changed my life... because of him I got to play in a World Cup final."

France won the World Cup for the first time in their history in that 1998 showpiece, with then-Chelsea defender Leboeuf calling time on his career after a spell with Hollywood United in 2007.

Rather fittingly, the former defender went on to feature in a blockbuster film as he played a doctor in the Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything.

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