How significant was the New York Red Bulls' Emirates Cup title they won on Sunday? Apparently not significant enough to keep Thierry Henry from trying to switch teams with about five minutes left in the game:
"I wanted to do it and I'm sure the fans would have wanted to see it, but we were told at half-time it was not possible. Stupid rules."
So, yeah, if there was any doubt this was nothing more than a trumped up exhibition game, that should probably be the final word.
That said, it does seem a bit silly that the referee wouldn't allow it. I mean, Arsenal was allowed to use six subs. I'm sure there were other FIFA rules that were bent or outright broken. This game was, after all, a nonleague match at the very least and a really just an exhibition. Would FIFA's sanctity really be threatened by a player switching jerseys mid game?