So Ireland was fukked and Theirry Henry admitted it?

[Deuce]

Direct hand ball that was uncalled. Will anything come of this? Obviously not fair to Ireland.

[pavyracer]

No it's like any other sport. If the refs missed the call it's over.

[Enogsiwon]

you guys really watch soccer?

[Enogsiwon]

Deuce... Im ashamed of you..

I know why Pavy likes soccer.. he's one of these brainwashed fukks that thinks anything "american" is bad and wants change everywhere he looks...

but you deuce?? pull it together buddy...

[Deuce]

Deuce... Im ashamed of you.. I know why Pavy likes soccer.. he's one of these brainwashed fukks that thinks anything "american" is bad and wants change everywhere he looks... but you deuce?? pull it together buddy...

I am Irish and don't like the fact the French fukked me.


Also, I am educated in all of sports. I am an educated person, I do not discriminate. Henry is one of the best athletes worldwide.

[daggerkobe]

Cheating French >>>>>>>>>> Luck of the Irish

[pavyracer]

Deuce... Im ashamed of you..

I know why Pavy likes soccer.. he's one of these brainwashed fukks that thinks anything "american" is bad and wants change everywhere he looks...

but you deuce?? pull it together buddy...

I believe the US has a good soccer team that reached the WC for the last 20 years. Not supporting your national team is unamerican.

[Shark79]

Its not the first, nor will it be the last.

[tullamore]

Tough way to lose for the Irish. It would have been great for great for that country to make the World Cup. I remember being in Ireland in 1990 when they made their run to the quarterfinals, it was an amazing experience.

[lakerboy]

Luck of the Irish

[TurkzZ]

about time technology is brought in, like in tennis teams should have 2-3 challanges, simple, no need for all this, as for henre, not one of my favs but if i was in the same position id do it lol

[mihaita666]

i've never seen henry acting nonfair-play so far...and what turkzz says is perfectly alright, i have the same thoughts

[demize21]

i agree the discussion BS the refs do is for what cause they are scared of the players etc need a legitimate way replay or something when it comes to crucial outcomes give the coaches a red flag 2 challenges and loss of a sub if they lose LOL

[tacomax]

Football Association of Ireland chief executive John Delaney has urged FIFA to uphold their own principles and "step up to the plate" by agreeing to replay their controversial World Cup play-off defeat by France.

The FAI have lodged a formal complaint with the world governing body, claiming the integrity of the game has been damaged after French forward Thierry Henry blatantly handled the ball during extra-time in the lead-up to the winning goal scored by William Gallas.

"I really believe the integrity of the game has been questioned," Delaney said.

"The governing body of world football have to step up to the plate and accede to our call for a replay."

Delaney also confirmed the FAI have written to their French counterparts.

"We have got to do what we have to do," he said. "We owe it to the players, who were magnificent. The supporters were incredible.

"It is up to the people who govern the game now. Every time I go to a FIFA congress I hear about fair play and integrity.

"This was not a league game. This was a defining game with the whole world watching and if FIFA believe in fair play and integrity, this is their opportunity to step forward.

"From the French FA point of view they need to look at themselves in this situation. Henry is their captain and a wonderful footballer but does he want to be like Diego Maradona and his legacy to be this handball, this goal that got them to the World Cup in an unjust manner?"

Delaney added: "If we had qualified in this manner, I wouldn't be happy.

"I really believe the integrity of the game has been questioned."

The FAI statement earlier said: "The handball was recognised by the FIFA commissioner, the referee observer and the match officials, as well as by the player himself."

Ireland's Justice Minister Dermot Ahern and assistant Republic of Ireland coach Liam Brady have both called for the game to replayed.

The FAI believe there is a precedent for the result to be struck out.

FIFA ordered Uzbekistan to replay Bahrain in a play-off for the 2006 World Cup in Germany after the referee made a mistake after a penalty had been awarded.

The governing body described it as a "technical error".

However, in that instance, the referee was guilty of wrongly applying the rules rather than missing an offence. An indirect free-kick was awarded against Uzbekistan when one of their players encroached on the Bahrain penalty area as the Uzbeks successfully converted a penalty. The correct interpretation would have been to order the penalty to be retaken.

The FAI hit out at the referee, Swedish firefighter Martin Hansson, who failed to spot Henry use an arm to control the ball before squaring for team-mate William Gallas to score.

"Conclusive video evidence of a deliberate hand ball by Thierry Henry, which led to France's additional time goal, has been seen by millions of football fans worldwide," the FAI said.

"The blatantly incorrect decision by the referee to award the goal has damaged the integrity of the sport and we now call on FIFA, as the world governing body for our sport, to organise for this match to be replayed."

[tacomax]

WTF, deuce? You trying to subliminally advertise Brandon Lang?

[twister]

Never in a million years will this game be replayed.

Shambolic results have happened ever frequently. The refereeing display that cheated Chelsea out of a CL Final, the "goals" that weren't actually goals in the English Championship, shots hitting beach balls and deflecting into the goal...none of those were replayed, and nor will this. Makes a huge case for video technology to be introduced to the game though.

[mihaita666]

michael platini is phukin french, it won'r be replayed

[TurkzZ]

michael platini is phukin french, it won'r be replayed

yep

[DwightShrute]

so sad


He came over to us and said he cheated'





EMMET MALONEPLAYERS' REACTION: NOT EVERYONE was quite so clear about the terminology that should be applied to Thierry Henry’s role in France all important extra-time goal last night at the Stade de France but as Richard Dunne took the first few steps out of the ground some 50 minutes after the final whistle, he had no doubt whatsoever about the what the French striker had been guilty of.
“I’ve watched it back a few times and I think it’s quite blatant that we were cheated,” said a still visibly upset Aston Villa defender. “Realistically, it’s exactly what we thought might happen. The people who run the game have got exactly what they wanted.”
Dunne conceded that the Swedish referee had given the Irish a couple of minor decisions over the course of the 120 minutes but, he insisted, the key ones all went the way of the hosts with the mistakes made by the match officials for William Gallas’ goal ultimately deciding the outcome.
“It’s not a difficult thing to see and really there shouldn’t be any need for replays,” said the 30-year-old Dubliner who was a matter of feet away as the Arsenal defender forced the ball over the line.
“The goal should have been disallowed for two reasons; the linesman was in line and should have given them offside then the referee should have given a free out for the handball.
“We couldn’t believe he didn’t but when we chased after him he said that he was 100 per cent sure that he (Henry) hadn’t handled it. But then Henry came over to us himself and said he had.
“He said he hadn’t intended to, it had just happened. He’s admitted that he cheated and that we should have gone through. He didn’t apologise but he admitted it. What can you do, though? That’s the result now and they’ve gone through.”
The defender was scathing about the prospect of an official complaint getting the Irish anywhere in the coming days. “I doubt that they’d even answer the phone to the FAI in Fifa because this is exactly what they wanted.
“The World Cup is run by people who want to decide who gets there, that’s why big teams get big decisions.”
Trapattoni, he said however, was “not happy in there and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s something more about it from him”.
The players, he admitted, however, have little real option but to take some very small consolation from how well they played and start looking forward to the next European Championships.
“We deserved to win tonight and we could have had another couple of goals during the 90 minutes. What happened in the end didn’t spoil our performance or take anything away from it, the referee spoiled his own performance.
“We have to be proud of our performance,” he concluded. “It will give us hope and encouragement.”
Moments later, Trapattoni’s assistant, Liam Brady described it as “a bad night for football” as he left.
“I wouldn’t call it that (cheating), I couldn’t use that word, but when it comes to the crunch the big teams do always seem to get the decisions.
“They (Fifa) wanted Portugal and France in the World Cup when they made the draw last month and that’s what’s happened.”

[Ace_of_Spades]

Should be replayed, but don't bring in challenges or replays. For heavens sakes, there is a huge TV screen to see what happened in the stadium, open your eyes ref. Plus there are 2 linesmen, one on each side, how did they miss it.

I say replay the match, and Sunderland v Liverpool too.

[Ace_of_Spades]

WTF, deuce? You trying to subliminally advertise Brandon Lang?

Wow, thats really poor humour, get out.

[Deuce]

Maradona hand of God was not replayed this won't be either.

[Ace_of_Spades]

Give us another gooo! tatattitatiii!!!!!

[mihaita666]

the level of corruption in football is big and im not talking about leagues like russian, roumanian, ukrainian, or poland, but also about fifa and uefa...Ireland instead of France, and Bosnia instead of Portugal would have represented a big loss for'em.

[Wilforth]

It's better than match fixing!

The French are in the World Cup! Full stop.

[exstatman]

Geez, this is like trying to play a high school team on the road and expecting the referee to be fair. Strange how the Norwegian referee hasn't been quoted anywhere...

[napalmrain]

I say replay the match or atleast ban Henry so he can't play in the World Cup.
Exstatman, it's a swedish referee and of course he can't be quoted anywhere because FIFA&UEFA have told him to shut up and dont give any comments to the media.

[Ace_of_Spades]

I say replay the match or atleast ban Henry so he can't play in the World Cup.
Exstatman, it's a swedish referee and of course he can't be quoted anywhere because FIFA&UEFA have told him to shut up and dont give any comments to the media.

Why ban Henry, he hasn't done anything wrong. He admitted it was a handball and even said it was to the ref. Its FIFA that have the power to say anything, don't focus anything on Henry. The guy is a star and an honest one too.

[mihaita666]

i don't remember to have seen a match replayed....except for some in Romania, before 1989, which i was told about.

[Ace_of_Spades]

i don't remember to have seen a match replayed....except for some in Romania, before 1989, which i was told about.

WC/Euro related?

[TheBeautifulGame]

We want a reply but it's not going to happen. If it did, it could change football as we know it. Cheating French got away with it. I didn't know you were Irish deuce, what part you from?

[jayc88]

about time technology is brought in, like in tennis teams should have 2-3 challanges, simple, no need for all this, as for henre, not one of my favs but if i was in the same position id do it lol

lol 2-3 challenges per game for each team is a ridicolous advice ,
we are not in the us , where play stops every 10 seconds .
This rule would destroy the game.

[Ace_of_Spades]

We would all have done what Henry did, no doubt about it. Anyone would have done it, its just instinct.

[digimedia]

i don't remember to have seen a match replayed....except for some in Romania, before 1989, which i was told about.

In 2005 Uzbekistan - Bahrein was replayed because of a mistake by the ref. Uzbekistan scored a penalty but the ref disapproved it because one of the players moved in too quickly. He then awarded Bahrein a free kick instead of having the penalty taken again. This was a WC Qualifying match.

[Outkast81]

Lay off Henry. Admittedly, as an Arsenal fan, I have a soft spot for him. But any player would have done the same thing. Look at what Damien Duff said after the match to BBC - "If it was myself or Robbie down the other end we'd have tried it ... you just expect the linesman or referee to see it." It's ridiculous to put the onus on the player committing the foul in this situation. That's why we have referees, right? Because players are incapable of policing themselves in any sport. If they did, no game would ever really be fair, because each side has a vested interest. But that does not guarantee that an impartial judge will always be fair, either.

Should FIFA have picked a more high profile ref for this match? Probably. But that is not Henry's fault. Henry did not do anything wrong that is not done in every single football match that takes place on a daily basis, from players claiming throw ins which aren't theirs, making fouls, pulling jerseys, diving and countless other actions intended to put them in a position to win the game.

In fact, I saw a highlight of an early qualifying match between Ireland and Georgia where Keane was clearly offside, handled the ball, and passed to a teammate, and the ref awarded a dodgy penalty against Georgia for an alleged handball. Did not hear any Georgia fans complaining about the "bigger team" being favored against the hard working eastern european underdog. Also did not see allegedly honest souls Keane and Duff telling the ref it wasn't a penalty.

As a friend put it to me earlier, so the lesson we are supposed to learn from this incident, similar to the Eduardo dive against Celtic, is not "don't cheat," it is "don't cheat certain teams." Sorry, but that's a load of crap.

Ok, rant over