British prime minister Tony Blair missed the traditional "family photo" of EU leaders at the opening of last night's summit in order to watch some of England's World Cup game against Trinidad and Tobago.
His move echoed events at the successful 1990 Dublin Summit chaired by then taoiseach Charles Haughey, who postponed the final summit press conference because of the penalty shoot-out between Ireland and Romania in the second round of that year's World Cup.
On Wednesday, Mr Blair used prime minister's question time in the House of Commons to wish the England team good luck in the match. They beat Trinidad and Tobago 2-0 in last night's game.