Ireland Demands Replay With Honest-To-Goodness Precedent

It would be great to see a replay, but Ireland would still lose unfourtenatly. Not that it wouldn’t be good to have a replay so the playoff match wouldn’t have to be decided by a discracefull “missed” call by the ref, but rather by a fair replay of the match in which no side would be favoured in refeering decisions.

In light of everything, there should be a replay.

The goal by France was not due to technical error so forget about “a precedent is a precedent”.

There is a difference between a “technical error” and “a mistake by a game official”. According to FIFA:

Technical Error = misinterpretation of the rules

Example:

In a match between Uzbekistan and Bahrain, the first of a home-and-home series to see which of the two will meet the CONCACAF region’s fourth-place finisher in a playoff for a berth in the 2006 World Cup Germany, Japanese referee Toshimitsu Yoshida disallowed a penalty kick made by Uzbek Server Djeparov, ruling there had been encroachment in the penalty area by a Uzbek teammate. But Yoshida did not allow Uzbekistan to retake the penalty, as is clearly stated in the rule book; instead inexplicably awarding a free kick to Bahrain.

Mistake by game official = error in judgement/judgment

Example:

Disallowing a goal for an offside that replay shows never happened. That is a judgement/judgment call that has to stand.

I think the Irish deserve a replay. After watching this game live, and hearing that Henry admitting to the handball it should be replayed – total cheat and he’ll be remembered for what looked like an American Football catch of the ball in order to keep it in play. I’ve never seen anything so obvious in my life, and any normal league referee would have ‘red carded’ Henry after such a display.

I feel bad for the people of Ireland who have been cheated out of a real chance at the 2010 World Cup. If the French team had any real respect for Futbol they would also request a replay, because this is the most tarnished win of all time.

A replay is a no-go. However, France should be disqualified from the World Cup for cheating & Ireland should either have to take their place or play a new play-off against the next best 2nd place European side.

The fact France are even going to the World Cup makes a mockery of football. From FIFA changing the seeding rules, to Ireland being the only non-seeded team having to play their 2nd game Away from home to Ireland being by far & away the better team with the better fans over both legs & to all the cheating the French did, from elbowing the Irish players, to the 15 fouls Diarra pulled off without a single caution, to the cynical dive Anelka attemted to trick the ref with without being cautioned to the outrageous offside then double handball goal. The sport has never looked so ridiculous & he entire World Cup competition is a farce.

Please sign the disqualify France from the World Cup campaign at PetitionSpot & boycott FIFA until something is done & the game can regain an ounce of credibility:

http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/footballcheats

A replay is crazy!! So, what, every time an official gets a call wrong we need to have a replay! This is crazy!!!! Therefore, I guess we should replay the entire 2002 World Cup because of the hand ball by the Germans which denied the US a goal to possibly advance.

Again, if the goal was disallowed, Ireland still would not have qualified.

The only thing Ireland was denied was going to PKs, not a spot in South Africa.

Great read – but I wouldn’t pin too much on a distinction between missing a call and incorrectly applying the rules of the game. Not exactly apples and oranges, although France’s clout will probably carry the day

Why a replay is such a ‘crazy’ idea is beyond me. It’s down to what the game is about. Leave it as it stands and the general understanding is: do what you have to do to win, just don’t get caught. Sport is about fair play and rules. Henry admitted to handball (a bit late), there’s very clear video evidence, one of the officials MUST have seen it…..the list goes on.
Certainly we weren’t denied a guaranteed spot in the world cup but you cannot deny that we were the better team and at least deserved the remainder of extra time to prove that, or penalties.
I’m not angry simply because I’m Irish (but it is a major factor). I’ve been to many matches and have witnessed many losses and have accepted them as they were fair. It’s the fact that we were ROBBED and CHEATED out of a competition we deserve to be a part of!
Turn the tables around. If this was the other way around and a smaller team qualified over a ‘more popular’ team because of cheating…… it wouldn’t happen!!!
If this is the way the competition is going to go; Stick it up your —!!!

w00t! Eireann go Brach! and Fuck France!
The prospect of a replay is very exciting… yet it does have a few kinks. Namely that Ireland deserved the 1-0 at the end of the 90, and replaying the whole match deprives them of that. I’m not going to complain if that happens, because it’s better than nothing, but in all fairness, I think they should replay overtime and posibly penalty kicks, but I realize that that will never happen.

THE NOTION THAT THIS IS A DELIBERATE FIFA CONSPIRACY TO GET FRANCE TO THE WORLD CUP IS PARANOID JINGOISTIC NONSENSE.

If the referee was told to make their decision to get France to S. Africa, then why did he fail to award France a penalty in both legs?

It is arrant nonsense.

i think the irish player were not wise.i doubt the credability of FIFA. i think if we talk of match fixing and these and that, FIFA should be investigated too. the match chelsea barca, ireland france, cameroon england to mention a few bring out some doubts.FIFA is just there to make money and choose who will win. Afterall the irish will speak and at the end become tired and even forget the tragedy.
i think in future teams should take it on their hands to autimatically stop the play and move out of the pitch in such a situation.if FIFA wants he should place some fine and the teams should not even pay in a case like this. i even doubt with the level of afriacn football now-a-days if it starts like this , africa should only hope to touch the worldcup in 20000000038. because FIFA decides on who will win.
If FIFA wants football to regain its image, i think there should be a fair play.nevertheless france did not deserve the win even from their style of play. first an off-side and second double handball by henry.it is just too much.

The Irish are being ridiculous….if they replay this game, then I demand that they replay the 2002 Quarterfinal between Germany and USA. Ireland doesn’t deserve a replay, and if they get one, let’s annul Brazil’s 2002 title. This whole idea is stupid.

It’s not gonna happen of course. Are there even any international dates before the draw that would make this possible?

Btw, in a move of utter BS, FIFA won’t announce the seeding system for another two weeks, just before the Draw.

I notice that the most Francophobic (and Italy-supporting) blogger on this site, Chris, has put up this and other blogs on this whole issue.

I doubt he’d be offering the same amount of outrage if Henry were Italian.

Yeah, because no other blogs are talking about the same issue. (Rolls eyes)

Sandrahn, the whole world would be up in flames if this was an Italian issue. Funny how the same France fans who say Italy are a bunch of diving, cheating scum are the ones who complain about Francophobia.

Its not the same argument at all. The replay was awarded because the referee “forgot” the rules, i m assuming a technical problem is then a euphemism for a dumbass referee. However, the other night was not at a technical problem, because had the referee seen and recognized this, it would have surely not been a goal. Therefore there is no precedent for last night resulting in a replay.

I hope there will be a new one this time though.

I guess there cases to be made on both sides of the coin. Bring video replay then.

Asking France to be disqualified is absurd.

As for 2002, Germany/USA? How about the goal disallowed for Belgium against Brazil? In case, people, and I have read this, Brazil is fair play think Rivaldo and Leonardo. In 2002, if there were two games to be replayed it was Italy/Korea; Spain/Korea.

I don’t mean to open a can of worms but controversy happens to all nations. We’re not suggesting those games should have been replayed but man, it’s hard to accept defeats like this.

God shut the fuck up already Sandrahn. Useless piece of shit. You cannot possibly argue that France does not have more influence on FIFA and UEFA than Ireland does. That’s the facts. That is not saying that FIFA fixed the match, hoever.
Indeed, Alessio.
Mark, I suppose you would be glad to see whatever country you support knocked out in such a manner? There’s obviously a difference between replaying a game that just happened before it’s outcome has had any effect and replaying a game that happened 7 years ago.

France did not deserve penalties in either case. Dives.

i hope they don’t replay the game.
if fifa allows it, everybody who loses a game where there was a mistake by a game official will ask for a replay.
think about it, every wrong called offside will lead to a demand for replaying the game…

The only description for Thierry Henry and Nicolas sarkozy is that they are philosophical BARBARIANS representing a BARBARIAN Nation.

I would support a replay. Regarding the “technical error” vs. “a mistake by a game official” distinction: Clearly, the call for invalidation is not based on the erratic judgement of the referee, but rather on admitted cheating from the player himself. After a match has ended, if the winning side admits cheating, I think there is not only possible, but also necessary for FIFA to invalidate the result. It is quite similar to withdrawing the Olympic Gold Medal, when the winner is caught in the doping test.

Do you guys really think France is a bigger market than Ireland? Ireland has tons American fans, etc…

Simply on that, I dont think France has more influence than Ireland. France would not have more of a chance to replay than Ireland. In fact, giving replays for such unfortunate instances is not appealing to Fifa because it would completely change the game.

I guess platini could not have seen this coming (since this “cheating” is almost random… it was just as likely to happen to an irish player) but he has been a big proponent for having an extra ref introduced on the goal line.

Here’s what FIFA said:

“FIFA have confirmed this morning that there will be no replay between the Republic of Ireland and France following calls for the game to be replayed.

According to The Guardian website, FIFA has confirmed that there is no chance of the game being replayed, refering to Law 5 in the official rules of the game which states that the referee has ‘full authority to enforce the Laws of the Game in connection with the match to which he has been appointed,’ and that ‘the decisions of the referee regarding facts connected with play are final.’

The law seems to rule out any possibility of the game being replayed.”

Replay it. Then we have Abidal on the wing for defense, and that shuts things down nice and tight. No worries. France couldn’t possibly play as poorly as they did yesterday. Bring it on.

What I do wish is that people would stop labelling Henry a “cheat.” Whether you use the word as a verb or noun, it’s still inaccurate. Henry made a rash decision in the heat of battle, one that he owned up to. According to some accounts, he even told the ref, who dismissed the claim.

Speaking as a (also) Barca fan, who had to hear the “cheating” accusations hurled by Chelsea supporters, it’s difficult to prove, just as the FIFA want France in the World Cup are also.

It’s a situation that nobody, but nobody, can see objectively. I cheered the goal in real time, and was sorry that I did in light of the replay. But the ref didn’t call it. Which means what? How many matches are decided by refereeing decisions? Do we replay all of them? Where does it stop?

Not a judgment, just a question.

Who knows maybe Chris writes for the BBC.uk as well who absolutely hate Arsenal and France!

While I feel sorry for Ireland, a replay is not a great idea; and I doubt that will happen in this case.

I am in favor of video technology’s coming into the game of football…..as soon as possible.

“The Irish FA, of course you’d hear from them”

I haven’t heard a peep out of them and why should I???

Kuyt (November 19th, 2009 at 1:20 pm ) spot on:

“After a match has ended, if the winning side admits cheating, I think there is not only possible, but also necessary for FIFA to invalidate the result. It is quite similar to withdrawing the Olympic Gold Medal, when the winner is caught in the doping test.”

If they can’t invalidate the result then at least suspend the player (for bringing the game into disrepute).

What I do wish is that people would stop labelling Henry a “cheat.”

Why, because he instinctively did it? Maybe that’s worse. Just because Drogba has a natural reaction to hit the deck anytime someone touches him, doesn’t make it any better than him consciously doing it.

Deleted – Daryl

From another blog:

“No surprise, the Irish are asking FIFA to call for a replay of the game due to the Henry hand ball. Um are you serious? Should England ask for the same to replay the 1/4 final game against Argentina in 1986? Should Australia ask for a replay of their Italy game in the 2006 World Cup for an incredibly poor decision to grant a last minute penalty? Or maybe France should petition for a replay of the 1982 World Cup semi finals when Schumacher should have been red carded…how about the Hurst goal in the 1966 World Cup finals…was it a goal or not?? Missed calls and poor referee decisions are part of the game, move on.”

Check out Schmacher’s foul on Battiston in 1982:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQgUuiIXp1A&feature=player_embedded

You’d think the Irish were the only team ever to have suffered a grave injustice in football and that France have NEVER suffered at all.

Ah yes, john, another ignorant anti-France bigot who NEVER EVER sees anything wrong done by his perfect saintly Italian national team.

To Ryan McManus, I have already seen my team knocked out in that manner. There was 2002 between USA-Germany, a penalty not called for Italy vs. South Korea which would have been the golden goal. Spain got cheated out of that cup more than anybody.

Things like this happen to every team…Ireland just whines about it more

Also, when Ireland played Italy in Italy, that shouldn’t have been a straight red for the Italian defender in the beginning of the game. Had Italy had 11 men, Italy would have won, and who knows how that would have affected Ireland moving forward. Maybe they wouldn’t even be here, maybe Bulgaria would.

Stop whining you little girls, stop whining stop whining. Maybe if you scored more goals in the first 180 minutes, you wouldn’t be in this position. You would have lost in penalties anyway

then fifa should stop probing athlects after they have been awarded their medal.if fifa can not accept a replay of a match when the winners accepts a foulplay, then he should test athlects be4 their games and not after the game. it now means u should do everything possible to achieve ur goal but donn’t be caught.
Also i hear people saying the match between Uzb and bah was a technical error. what do we call here technical error???? fifa is a mess and even trapatoni too is a mess. he can not stand up to defend his team and rather he is saying in the future.the future starts today.i see this as a technical error too. the refree also failed to apply the rules of fifa which states ” if u catch the ball with ur hands, u should be given a card “. it was also very easy for the refree in the uzb-bah match to also say he did not see the player who enterred the 11m box or rather that he realised the penalty wasn’t right so he decided to change his mind by giving a free kick in favour of bah.technical errors are made by machines men and not by humans.a human being should either say he did not know it is supose to be like this. which makes it not technical but rather inexperience. inexperience should not be changed to technical error.
and then i will say here too tht the irish captain too was not swift. he could have called the players out of the picht rather than continue the play.it could have been normal for them to accept defeat at tht point and end the match. Anayway i see everything as arranged. look at the second refree up.directly facing henry. he can not say he did not see either the offside nor the handball. they were just waiting for an opportunity to give france the victory.
Allez les blues mais vous alliez sortir pendent le premiere tour. chien

Mark, seriously?

Shay Given vs. Lloris? I’d take a one-armed Given in penalties…

If we don’t learn from the mistakes of the past are we destined to keep repeating them? YES. Just because Maradona or others got away with it doesn’t mean we should just keep accepting this kind of nonsense. So you can’t change the past, but this is the present and FIFA can man up and fix this one. If not a replay then disqualify France or Henry from the WC at the very least. Set a precedence.

As for the future, it’s time for some form of instant replay. Maybe not like football, but something reserved for the most crucial of moments, maybe only used once a game, if that. It’s necessary in order to maintain the reputation of the sport. If not what’s next, theme songs playing for each players entrance, trampy managers accompanying the players onto the field and trash talking interviews during halftime? As it is some players are already great actors. Seriously, this is where soccer is headed if FIFA doesn’t make some changes.

Most importantly, and not yet mentioned is there is precedence for FIFA replaying a game. They did so in 2005 when Bahrain suffered from a referee error etc

There will never be a replay. Generally that’s how sports works. The result is recorded and that’s that. The true crime here is that Henry won’t be punished for this. You cannot punish the entire French team because they all didn’t hand the ball. If it were your team, you’d cheer for the goal as well without thinking twice. But Henry admits to cheating after the cameras caught him and so far there has been no punishment. That’s what makes FIFA and soccer look ridiculous. Deny him the right to play in the World Cup. Or if that’s too extreme, then force him to sit out the first stage. Allow him to come in only if france qualify for the knockout stage. The fact that nothing is being done is a shame. And the way the French team celebrated was a joke, especially because they know what happened. The didn’t earn their spot in the World Cup, but they may have. Its too bad they were so desperate that a cheap win is what they’re comfortable being remembered for.

Cheap win? Is there such a thing? Both sides had chances, and didn’t convert. Keane could have sealed it, Govou could have made the Henry assist irrelevant. Neither one happened. And who knows what might have happened in penalties. The match is over, and isn’t going to be replayed.

Now what?

The Precedent doesn’t hold water because it’s citing a misapplication of the Laws of the Game and not a subjective call during live play. The two plays are unequateable and if they allow a replay it will be setting a very very dangerous precedent for future games where judgement calls are made.

So we have to come to the conclusion so far that the precedent thing isn’t necessarily perfect. Mark is busy wallowing in previous defeats, in a non-progressive attitude. Just because murders will always happen doesn’t mean we should try to prevent them. And especially if you’re trying to say that doing so would be unfair to previous victims. That is the most morally despiccable argument against this I have heard. Yeah, other countries have suffered similar injustices, but I’m sure they’d feel just as glad as Ireland if Fifa decided to do somethingto prevent further things from occuring. Mark, your logic is flawed in so many ways, I cannot begin to describe the implications of what you are saying. Just because other teams have had similar things happen to them doesn’t mean they wouldn’t like something to be done about it in the future. This issue has to be dealt with and you have to start somewhere. Slavery is another example. When Lincoln finally emncipated slaves he wasn’t worrying about being unfair to the slaves of previous generations who he wasn’t able to free. At one time or another, we are just going to have to address the issue whether it’s now or five years from now.

doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to prevent them*

And meanwhile in sandrahn’s little world, it’s everbody against France. Everybody loves the Italian team and hates the French. All British, Irish, Scottish, and “Anglo” people are moralizing santcimonious hypocrites and want nothing more than to bash France.
There is a bigger picture than that, and if your brain is to small to realize that then you don’t belong here. It’s not about French-hating. Yes, I believe that what Henry did was low class. Yes, I don’t believe France deserved to win. But this is really about whether we are going to continue to let other such incidents occur, regardless of nationality. Things like video review and replays. Things that will make the game fairer for everyone. Video does not discriminate. By standing in the way of such things, you just seem like you accept the fact that the only way
France can succeed is without such improvements to the sport.

after this teams will ask for a replay due to an ungiven ‘blatant’ penalty, ungiven ‘defender tug my shirt, and i tumble’ penalty, an ungiven freekick (my team got a world class freekick taker, surely he can score from there?), etc..

laughable

It was a missed call by the ref. You can’t replay it. If they did, qualifications would last a decade with every countries FA calling for a replay on the countless mistakes refs have, and will continue to make. (and to be fair to the ref from the live action i think most people couldn’t see the handball. i couldn’t ….the slow-mo instant replay was needed)

I think the solution is two fold. FIFA should finally bring in video replay (at least for goals). And Henry should be suspended for 3 matches (the WC group phase) for admitting he did handle the ball. There does have to be some discipline for a player that shows no interest in fair play.

exactly dag, which is why moving forward it is imperative to institute some form of instant replay or review. Deal with it on the field, even if it means you cut the flow by 30 seconds. Give teams 1 or 2 opportunities to challenge a call throughout a game. It’s not like play isn’t stopped some times for 5 or 10 minutes when a player is injured, so the argument that it deteriorates the beautiful flowing nature of the sport is bogus. Instant review is a must.

People like DeNigrisEPD seem to be arguing the merits of Instant Replay from complete ignorance. They have no idea about how the system would be implemented or what impact it would have. They’re just saying it would be good under what they believe it would be.

Henry handled the ball not once, but twice, before crossing for William Gallas to convert a goal. Henry admits those 2 handballs.

FIFA should investigate. If from the video there are enough evidences to show any one of those 2 handballs was deliberate, a sanction (penalty) should be given, least for 2 matches banned for him to play in the finals, or the entire final tournament.

Henry handled the ball not once, but twice, before crossing for William Gallas to convert what proved to be the decisive goal. He should be banned from the finals in South Africa.

i say suck it up and move on…. sour grapes all around. all this talk about justice this, justice that is not going anywhere.

Henry handled the ball not once, but twice, before crossing for William Gallas to convert what proved to be the decisive goal. He should be banned from the finals in South Africa.

Australia

Rematch means chaos, that is for sure. But we had Maradona’s hand of God, and now Henry Handballs. We need something. We need new rules.

In Australia, we have after match tribunals in AFL, ARL and ARU (Australia football league, rugby league, rugby union). In Australian Open (tennis), we have instantaneous video reference now. FIFA should do something, like after match tribunals. Deliberate cheater should be banned from playing for a while.

Australia

This can only be replayed if France decides they don’t want to advance that way. Otherwise any contested call would lead to people asking for a replay.
Let’s not forget that the greatest disgrace of all time occurred in the actual World Cup and that event was not replayed. In 1982 West Germany and Austria played a match where the other group match had already been played (in these days the final matches of each group weren’t played at the same time) and the West Germans needed to win by either one goal or two goals and both Austria and themselves would advance while Algeria would be eliminated. West Germany were allowed to score by the Austrians and then the two sides just passed the ball around the pitch for the remainder of the game with no attempt what so ever to score anymore goals and the Algerians were eliminated. Algeria protested the result saying it should be invalidated but Fifa decided otherwise. They did change it so the final games of the groups took place at the same but little did that help the 1982 Algerian World Cup team.
That incident was much worse then the Henry handball as West Germany and Austria both colluded to fix a match. Fifa did not invalidate the result or have it replayed.

There is a huge difference between a missed call and a technical error by a ref. If we are gonna start replaying matches for missed calles then every single match ever is going to need to be replayed. Heck in the France v Ireland match there were more mistakes than just a missed handball. Did Ireland get screwed, yes! Should there be a replay, absolutely not! What measures should be taken against Thierry Henry, nothing! If ref would have caught the incident at most he would have gotten a yellow card. Don’t punish Henry for the result of the infraction, punish him for the infraction itself and in this case he admitted it and the ref still let the goal stand. What can we do to prevent this in the future. Add video replay to all FIFA events.

A new word is coined: henball

Rui (on November 19, 1702) makes the best points here. A replay can’t be awarded here. I WANT a replay awarded, but it CAN NOT happen. The precedent it would set would be longer than the outcome of the US 2000 election. RoIreland got robbed twice by FIFA (in seeding and this) and that’s how it is for now. Until replay of “disputed goals” is instituted, soccer will be a nothing sport in the largest sport market in the world. And the fact that diving by pussy-ass Italians, Spainiards, and Ronaldos (why not add Terry and Lampard ;) is still tolerated, to a large extent (magic foot-spray ftw!)

While soccer is the best sport, it’s still just a game. It’s a variant of the Roman circus. Occasionally Emperor Blatter has to turn away from the senators and pay heed to the mob…and we the mob want a replay.
The difference between a technical mistake and a missed call is minimized by the human element (referee and players). The technical mistake is the result of a control/alt/delete moment when the referee temporarily forgets the pertinent rule (or maybe never studied it). He is human. A missed call might happen because the referee does not have 10 gopher cams to simultaneously feed him or her information. Or it might happen because the referee just happened to have a random thought about his new girlfriend which temporarily disconnected his optic nerve. Just like in the law where a precedent exists for just about any position, Emperor Blatter need only reach into his bag of tricks titled “Fifa Fair Play and For the Good of the Game” and pull out a re-match.

Video replay….just what the grubby-fingered U.S. advertisers want. 10 years from now we’ll also have the 15 minute mark water break brought to you by your local Chevy dealer. At 30 minutes, they’ll stop so two kids sponsored by Dell Computers can race each other to a goalpost to win a new 2-inch laptop.

Don’t slow down the game just because the NFL produces 7 to 12 minutes of actual “ball in play” during 3.3 hours. England of all people should be thankful their 3rd goal “went in” in 1966. As for Ireland, the approach to the beaches of Normandy are now largely unguarded. On to the Bastille and the Stade de Fraud.

Kxevin, youre trying to defend the indefensible. I don’t get it.
Alfred Lord…, if the television audience has time to see the goal celebration, multiple replays of the goal from different angles, fan reactions in the stadium, reactions from both coaches, and even a brief replay of the goal celebration, all before play has formally resumed (or with the audience missing mere seconds of resumed play,) somebody on the field can be examining an instant replay without severe time delays.
Too many silly comparisons get made between American football and Association football. Mostly made by people who don’t like the US, these being the very same people who cry and squeal when their team gets cheated to no avail. American football and Association football don’t have anything to do with each other. Therefore, holding on to current policies doesn’t make you a stronger Anti-American, it just makes you in favor of corruption.

Just in general, at first I never understand why Brazil and Italy automatically get hated on whenever debate springs up in international soccer that had absolutely nothing to do with them. Then I remember that Brazil has five world cups and Italy has four. Stay on your job, haters.

Excellent commentary here:

http://arsenal.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=516781

Excerpt: “The FAI this week begged and pleaded with FIFA to ‘uphold the integrity of the game’ by giving them a replay. Strangely enough, when Ireland beat Georgia at Croke Park earlier in the Qualifying campaign courtesy of some incorrect officiating, I don`t recall them offering Georgia a replay. When Damien Duff dived for a penalty in the 2002 World Cup I`m not sure I recall the same media or FAI uproar. I`m also not sure why the FAI have demanded Thierry Henry apologise for his handball on Wednesday night, yet have somehow not asked Robbie Keane to do likewise- Keane, you will remember was twice penalised for deliberate handball in the match. Is it only intent to cheat when you get away with it?”

If Ireland are so pure and morally superior to France, then why didn’t the FAI offer to replay their game v. Georgia?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf9fx4ipF4Q

Keane deliberately catches the ball with his hand and somehow gets a penalty.

This is all about hypocritical, selective moral outrage. When it’s done to “us” then it’s just cheating, immoral and the perpetrators should stand up, own up to it, tell the referee and agree to a reply.

When we do it to “them,” well, it’s just one of those things.

CeCe, perhaps you don’t “get it” because you don’t understand what I have written. It isn’t a defense. It’s perspective. Both sides did have chances to put the match away. Both sides screwed the pooch. The ref missed the call. Henry played to the whistle, as any other player would.

He has fessed up to the incident, and even come out in favor of a replay as the “fairest solution.” Not sure what more he can do aside from tattooing an Ireland flag on his backside and agreeing never to play the game again.

The problem is that the view of the matter will depend upon what side of the fence you’re on. To some, it was deliberate act committed by just another arrogant, cheating Frog. To others, it was a player playing to the whistle, no different from when a player who is clearly offside keeps running at the goal until he hears the whistle.

Cheating? Hardly. Stupid? Yep. Regrettable? Extremely. Even Henry says he wishes that it hadn’t happened that way.

Yes sandrahn it’s true that the Irish are enraged about this particular incident because it happened. And that another nation would do the same thing if something similar happened to them. I’m still missing your point though. It seems as if you are still arguing that because you think that actually doing something about these incidents is unfair to their past victims. If that’s how you feel then you are just being bitter and non-progressive. The point here is to prevent vital mistakes like these from occuring in the future, not to whine about the past. So far you have only stated the obvious and also acted like a victim of Francophobia. Also, in the link you just posted, Keane’s handball is not exactly the same. It’s not clear whether it is intentional and Henry’s certainly is in the most blantant manner. Also, there was no way that Keane could have known that he was about to get an absurd penalty decision when he handled the ball. Henry knew that by handling the ball that France could score and win the match to qualify, whereas Keane was just trapping a speculative forward ball, not even actually trying to win a penalty. Secondly, there’s a big difference between a wrong call and a non-call. That incident was clearly due to the stupidity and utter incompetence of the referees. He and his linesman had a clear view of the incident and made a ridiculous decision that Ireland was not playing for. On the other hand, Mr. Henry was quite clearly trying to deceive the referee in an attempt to cheat France’s way into the WC. The non-call from the referee and ensuing goal was exactly what Henry’s handball was meant to achieve. In this case the referee made the wrong decision because he and his linesman obviously did not see the incident. That is why something akin to video review must be done now to prevent further cheating. It’s quite impossible for us to account for the stupidity of some referees as demonstrated by your example, but we could certainly do a lot more to make sure the referee makes the most informed decision possible. I’m sure the Irish would feel at least somewhat better about this whole thing if FIFA decided to implement such a policy even if it didn’t have any effect on the outcome of the qualifier.

Kxevin, asserting that both teams played poorly is a shell game, and it’s also not the issue at hand. There are rules, which are called laws even, Henry (deliberately) broke them, and then got away with it, and that’s wrong. By your argument, Ireland should get over this because they didn’t make better use of the chances they had. One, I don’t understand how that’s the same thing as a handball from offside. Two, this is football, since when does the shots on goal/goal ratio dictate that the team should be blamed when there’s terrible refereeing? Football has been filled with spilled/foiled chances since it’s invention. That’s the game. I don’t see how this is an offense, let alone a consolation for Henry’s actions.
I don’t hate Henry, I understand why he did it, but he’s wrong, and something should be done about it. The problem it’s looking like once again nothing will be.

Hi,Guys,

Ive heard all sides of this argument about henry and the hanball incident
I even watched it myself :
over 30 million other people worldwide witnessed it too
Henry himself admitted it :

If something is done wrong and you get found out you are punished:

This is whether you own up yourself or are caught ..same diference.

Because Henry was Representing His National Side He is more culpable:

He alone but representing a Nation caused a breach of ethics that is going to have reverberating hardships for others:

In my opinion :: and its only an opinion there are only 1 of 2 options
open to FIFA/FFF and the like:

1: Let FRANCE forfeit the Match and walk away and Let Ireland in because of the breach of ethics….FIFA has said it would be too much trouble to arrange another match : this way they dont have to…Cheaters punished
and No change in amount of teams:

2 : Platini & Co to dig into their rich pockets and reimburse ALL of the
Fans who turned up to see a World Cup play off that was a Farce:
No body should be expected to PAY for this shambles:

There is of course another way :

Sue FIFA/FFF & Others if their is a Lawyer out there who would have the Bottle to take the job on…Im sure that dedicated fans of our sport of SOCCER would more than willingly help to pay for a chance to make FIFA etc
pay for this and all of the unethical things they have done now and in the past

For some weeks now we have been preparing to launch our ‘PledgeMySeat‘ campaign, designed to send over 94,700 new 4sport football boots to underprivileged African Children

We have created a 2010 virtual stadium, based on the venue for the 2010 World Cup final and are encouraging fans, schools, clubs and businesses to buy virtual seats.

For every seat pledged we will send over a pair of new 4sport football boots to one of our charity partners, enabling them to use the boots to engage with children from townships all over Africa, educating them in issues such as HIV prevention, Aids awareness and life skills such as self esteem and respect.

Given the injustice of last Wednesday’s France versus Ireland result and the subsequent fury it has provoked, we have decided to help Irish fans put their own stamp on the World Cup and leave a lasting legacy. For every Irish fan who pledges a seat, we will print an Irish flag on the boots we send over, meaning that if the Irish fans and team won’t be in Africa in person, they will be there in spirit.

Visit: http://www.kick4change.org/news/

Thanks