1930 FIFA World Cup French entered at the personal intervention of Rimet, but neither France's star defender Manuel Anatol nor the team's regular coach Gaston Barreau could be persuaded to make the trip. The Belgians participated at the instigation of German-Belgian FIFA vice-president Rodolphe Seeldrayers. The Romanians boarded the SS "Conte Verde" at Genoa, the French were picked up at Villefranche-sur-Mer on 21 June 1930; and the Belgians embarked at Barcelona. The "Conte Verde" carried Rimet, the trophy and the three designated European referees: the Belgians Jean Langenus and Henri Christophe, along with Thomas Balway, a Parisian who may have been English. The Brazilian
Jules Rimet and in part because the Uruguayan Football Association offered to pay all travel costs. Rimet travelled to Uruguay for the World Cup on SS "Conte Verde" along with the competing European teams, all the while carrying the trophy in his bag. However Rimet's decisions on where to host the first few World Cups led to criticism: European nations complained about the 1930 World Cup because players would be out of domestic tournaments for three months, which was why only France, Belgium, Romania and Yugoslavia sent teams to compete, and those only competed because of Rimet's influence. The following World Cup