He was responsible for the most famous refereeing error in French sport.
Former Dutch referee Charles Corver, on the whistle of the controversial 1982 FIFA World Cup semi-final between France and Germany, died on Tuesday.
His death, at the age of 84, was announced by his federation.
On July 8, 1982, in Seville (Spain), Charles Corver had not whistled a fault on the very violent exit of the German goalkeeper Harald Schumacher on the defender of the Blues Patrick Battiston while the two teams were tied (1-1) in the 58th minute.
The Habs had been taken out on a stretcher, with three fewer teeth and a cracked vertebra.
The Mannschaft goalkeeper was able to finish the match, won by Germany on penalties (3-3, 5-4 on tabs) while Michel Platini and his partners led 3-1 in overtime.
"If there is television (
Editor's note: the video
) in 82 and I am told that there was an accident directly caused by Schumacher, I could have made the right decision", explained in 2015 to So Foot the referee, who admits simply “not seeing” Schumacher's fault at the time.
It was only two days after the meeting, by reviewing the images, that he was able to see his mistake.
Charles Corver also officiated at the 1978 World Cup in Argentina and Euro 1980 in Italy.
He led the European Champion Clubs' Cup final in 1978 and two UEFA Cup finals (1977-1983).
After his career on the pitch, he worked as an observer for the Dutch federation, UEFA and FIFA.