The 32 Teams of the 2010 World Cup

FRANCE/….?!

Posted from  United States

lets flip the coin on this one, if ireland got the goal using a hand ball, dont u think that there would of been a replay of the game by now?????? or at least an “official” announcement by FIFA, corruption rules FIFA from the top to the bottom

Definitely not. If this had been flipped FIFA would have had the same reaction. Stop looking for conspiracies where there aren’t any. Anyway, the only effect that would have is instead of “Thierry Henry and France are scumbag cheaters who deserve to be banned”, the English speaking press would turn a blind eye.

Posted from  United States

if u believe that they would let france out of the world cup over a hand ball ur crazy, its ireland, and FIFA doesnt care if ireland makes it or doesnt, but france is where the money at, france would make FIFA more money than ireland, its not a conspiracy its a fact

at the last world cup blatter didnt even present the world cup to italy, why u may ask? cuz france lost!

there hasnt been a mention on the website of this “hand of fraud” y not??

corruption is everywhere and as wu-tang once said “C.R.E.A.M.”

Go USA/Any African team!

alex- France has missed numerous World Cups and Fifa did not intervene to keep them in. The match wouldn’t have been replayed no matter who the handball was on.

Posted from  United States

ya but france missed all those world cups before they won in 98 and the euro in 00, so now france is considered a world power in football. but before 98 they never really weree, so i can see FIFA wanting to keep one of their world powers in the WC, and tbh the tournament would not be the same no matter how much we all hate the french lol

If Brazil had lost a World Cup berth to Fiji due to a blatant handball, in some sort of crazy CONMEBOL/OFC playoff, then NO the game would still have not been replayed. People can’t get it through their head how stupid a precedent it would create to replay a match over a referee’s *missed* call.

Jeez, fans are going to drag this out up until the World Cup final, aren’t they? “Argh, [insert my country] got knocked out by France who shouldn’t even have been there, grrrrr.”

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.

Posted from  United States

Great quotes from Roy Keane:

“Keane pointed out that controversial decisions also went Ireland’s way in the qualifying campaign, not least a harsh penalty award against Georgia which helped them claim a 2-1 qualifying win in February. ‘Ireland had their chances in the two games [against France], and they never took them,’ he said. ‘But it’s the usual FAI reaction – ‘We’ve been robbed, the honesty of the game.’ There was one match against Georgia where Ireland got a penalty and it was one of the worst decisions I’ve ever seen which changed the whole course of the game. I don’t remember the FAI after the game saying we should give them a replay.”

Talking about France’s winner, Keane laid the blame on Ireland’s defence rather than Henry, who handled the ball before crossing for William Gallas to head in. “I’d focus on why they didn’t clear it,” he said. “I’d be more annoyed with my defenders and my goalkeeper than Thierry Henry. How can you let the ball bounce in your six-yard box? How can you let Thierry Henry get goal-side of you? If the ball goes into the six-yard box, where the hell is my goalkeeper?”.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/nov/20/roy-keane-ireland-thierry-henry

Posted from  United States

shane – matty is exactly right, since they won the world cup (which is debated till this date), they are in the “elite” club of soccer, its amazing how france barely qualified but yet there still considered a contender for the world cup

I LOVE ROY KEANE……FINALLY SOMEBODY MANS UP AND STOPS WHINING

Posted from  United States

Deleted – Daryl

Deleted – Daryl

“From the streets of Niger to New York and London to Lebanon the world is united in their outrage over how France won the game”

Meh, we’re mostly over it.

All football fans should go right on over to Bobby McMahon’s brilliant commentary on the foxsoccer.com website. McMahon is a Scottish expat living in Canada who works for Fox Soccer Channel. He’s far more level-headed and informed than any of the pundits in England.

It starts out like this:

The “Henry Incident” has provided an opportunity for outlandish stereo-typing and xenophobia. Opportunists have embraced a platform from which to moralize while others see the chance to advocate the red herring solution of video replay. (When Tony Cascarino lectures on ethics and fair play and isn’t laughed out of town then the apocalypse must be at hand.)

Certainly the goal should have been disallowed and the Republic of Ireland and their fans have a right to be aggrieved and to feel badly let down. The officials got the call wrong – either through not seeing the play or wrongly interpreting Henry’s actions. However, the debate was quickly hijacked and rapidly distorted. The hijackers seem to fall into three categories.

….

Then goes on with this:

The final clique is the “Henry is a cheat” bandwagon-jumpers. (Is is just a coincidence that such a high percentage of video proponents also seem quick to besmirch Henry? Perhaps it comes from watching replay after replay is super-slow-mo and the V-Js have forgotten that the game is played in real time.)

Cheating surely requires premeditation. From the time the ball skips off the turf to the time it leaves Henry’s hand it can be no longer than one second. Essentially Henry had to deal with the following in that miniscule amount of time. The game was in extra time, he was traveling at a good clip towards the Irish goal, the ball was skipping off a greasy surface and heading towards him at an angle.

To “cheat” Henry would have had to act with a level of premeditation that would be nothing short of superhuman. (This is not supporting the notion that Henry did not commit a foul – there is no direct requirement for intent – by the conventional meaning – in the laws of the game. Undoubtedly the goal should not have been allowed to stand.)

But surely it is a case of a player reacting in a way that is quiet natural given the circumstances and in particular the time available. A defender on the goal line and with a ball blasted at him within arm’s length will almost always move his hand towards the ball. In both instances it is an instinct fine tuned through thousands of hours of practice and playing.

To label Henry a cheat in such circumstances requires us to cast a wide net over almost everyone who has ever played the game. Handball – cheat, pushing off a defender- cheat, picking a defender at a corner kick – cheat, moving ten yards up the touchline for a throw-in – cheat.

That leaves us with the failure by Henry to admit to the referee that the ball stuck his arm and hand. The French captain is taking a roasting for that as well. The laws of the game do not require self policing by players but that can be written in if the powers-that-be see the advantages of such a system.

We could then look forward to the day when a defender admits to a referee that he did in fact trip the opponent and insist on being sent off. Or in the absence of such a change can we look forward to the same level of indignant protests that we have seen and heard in the last 24-hours the next time a defender fails to own up to a wrong-doing?
————

Read the whole thing: http://community.foxsports.com/bobbymcmahon/blog/2009/11/19/the_thierry_henry_incident_#comments

Posted from  United States

Great read. Let me just comment on the last two paragraphs. Self policing will never happen unless you are this woman:
http://www.wsaw.com/home/headlines/67750367.html

“Self policing” needs to be initiated by the referee.

I second Dustin Lau:

By Dustin Lau | November 20th, 2009 at 7:09 am

Simple. Suspend him for 5 games. Let’s see how they do without him.
Regardless of whether it’s happened before, that’s not the point. The point is, it needs to stop happening.

If there aren’t going to be video replays, then the referees must ask the player if he dived/handballed/cheated.

If the player admits to it, freekick given, punishment meted out, game goes on.

If the player lies and is found to have lied with video evidence, automatic 6 game suspension.

Would players still cheat? If they think they can get away with it, yes.
But would they think twice if it means they might miss the whole world cup? Probably.

Either way, at least some small measure of justice is done, even if it can’t change the result.

Posted from Singapore

http://www.worldcupblog.org/world-cup-2010/thierry-henry-handballs-france-into-world-cup-2010-would-you-have-done-the-same.html

Africa Cup of Nations Angola 2010 Draw Held
http://malawi.worldcupblog.org/team-news/africa-cup-of-nations-angola-2010-draw-held.html

Posted from  United States

hav you seen the defnseman for Hofstra, rich Martinez, Played 4 yrs as starter… just rec’d honarable mention all american honors, Played for the puerto rico World Cup Team… He is a beast!!! a sleeper first rounder

until they put a screen as a forth official like they do in rugby no rematch…

and if they do rematch they should replay all the games where refs had made a mistake alot of poeple have money on these games..

yes to tv screens as a forth official

go henry it was a classic

GO Algeriaaaaaa! algeria will win and defend the african world cup. after all it is in african and its only right that an african win it ) woooooooooooooooohooooooooooo 1 2 3 viva algerie!! peace!

rooting for USA, Ivory Coast is my sleeper, Spain probably to win

Posted from  United States

uruguay will win with forlan and suarez sikills

All of u know that NEW ZELAND is going to snap all of u.

they got the skillz that killz

i bet anyone $10 that brazil wont make it to the top 16

Posted from  Australia

you are all american talkin about football u havnt a clue cum on england

Posted from  United Kingdom