Thomas Balvay Thomas Balvay Thomas Balvay (2 February 1888 – 15 July 1945) was a football referee in the 1920s and 1930s and one of four European referees who participated in the first FIFA World Cup in 1930 in Uruguay. He was the only match official from France at the tournament. He had been an international referee since 1922 and twice refereed the Coupe de France (in 1926 and 1928). He travelled to Uruguay on the SS "Conte Verde", which also took Jules Rimet and the French, Belgian, Romanian and Brazilian teams to the first World Cup; picking up the teams en
Jules Rimet posthumously made a member of the FIFA Order of Merit, which was collected by his grandson Yves Rimet. He is credited with being the inventor of the World Cup. The original World Cup trophy was named the Jules Rimet Trophy in his honour. It was stolen just prior to the 1966 World Cup in England, but was found by the dog Pickles. Brazil won the tournament for the third time at the 1970 World Cup and was awarded the trophy permanently. It was stolen once more in Rio de Janeiro in 1983 and is believed to have been melted down