2009 Republic of Ireland v France football matches
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Republic of Ireland vs France was a two-legged football
play-off The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
held on 14 and 18 November 2009 between the national teams of the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
and
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
as part of the UEFA second round of qualification for the
2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
. The first match was held on 14 November in Croke Park,
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
,
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, and ended in a 1–0 victory for France with
Nicolas Anelka Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (; born 14 March 1979) is a French professional football manager and retired player who played as a forward. As a player, he regularly featured in his country's national team, often scoring at crucial moments. Known f ...
scoring. The second leg, played on 18 November in the Stade de France outside Paris, France, finished 1–0 to the Republic of Ireland (with Robbie Keane scoring). The tie went to extra time and a controversial
William Gallas William Eric Gallas (born 17 August 1977) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played most of his footballing career in France and England before finishing his career in Australia with A-League club Perth Glo ...
goal enabled by
Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best player ...
handling the ball twice made the score 2–1 on aggregate and France progressed to the World Cup at Ireland's expense. After the second leg, the French captain
Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best player ...
admitted to Irish defender
Richard Dunne Richard Patrick Dunne (born 21 September 1979) is an Irish former footballer and current television pundit for BT Sport, who played as a defender. He made 431 Premier League appearances, including 253 for Manchester City. Dunne began his prof ...
that he had illegally handled the ball in the build-up to Gallas' match-winning goal, which had been scored in extra time with 17 minutes remaining in the game. The incident led to calls from the Football Association of Ireland and
Government of Ireland The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The gover ...
to the world governing body FIFA for the result to be set aside and for the game to be replayed, and later for Ireland to be allowed to enter the World Cup as an unprecedented supernumerary 33rd team. Henry, previously seen by many in the sport as a fair footballer, was characterised as cheating, with the incident being compared to
Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the F ...
's "Hand of God" goal, and ''TIME'' magazine comparing Henry's goal (sometimes called "Le Hand of God") to a top ten list of sporting cheats. Henry considered retiring from international football due to the reactions to the game, while the
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
match referee Martin Hansson considered quitting as a referee. The result sparked debate on the issue of fair play in football, and fuelled the ongoing debate on the introduction of
video referee Instant replay or action replay is a video reproduction of something that recently occurred which was both shot and broadcast live. The video, having already been shown live, is replayed in order for viewers to see again and analyze what had j ...
ing and Additional Assistant Referees into the sport. At an emergency meeting of the FIFA Executive Committee called in part as a result of the handball controversy, FIFA announced it was setting up an inquiry into the options for technology or extra officials in football, but ruled out any changes being introduced in time for the 2010 World Cup. Henry's case was passed to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee for investigation, which ruled that it could not sanction Henry under the text of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.


Route to the matches

The qualification process for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
began in 2007, and as Europe-affiliated teams (both being members of
UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
) France and the Republic of Ireland became two of 53 teams competing for 13 places in the finals. Under the rules for the 2010 tournament, UEFA qualification was a two-stage process, as had previously been the case for qualification in 2006. Teams were able to qualify automatically by winning one of nine qualifying groups (the first round), and a second chance to qualify was given to eight of the nine second-place finishers via a knock-out phase (the second round) of four games between those eight second-placed teams, contested over two legs, home and away, with the winners of each pairing being awarded one of the four remaining UEFA qualifying places. Both France and the Republic of Ireland failed to qualify as winners of their first-round groups (France in
Group 7 Group 7 may refer to: * G7, an international group of finance minister *Group 7 element, chemical element classification *Halogens (alternative name) *Group 7 Rugby League, rugby league competition in New South Wales, Australia *Group 7 (racing) G ...
, the Republic in
Group 8 Group 8 may refer to: * Group 8 element, a series of elements in the Periodic Table * Group 8 Rugby League, a rugby league competition * Group 8 (Sweden), a feminist movement in Sweden * Group VIII, former nomenclature for the noble gas The n ...
), but both teams finished in second place with enough points to allow them to advance to the second round. FIFA announced on 29 September 2009 that it would modify the
draw Draw, drawing, draws, or drawn may refer to: Common uses * Draw (terrain), a terrain feature formed by two parallel ridges or spurs with low ground in between them * Drawing (manufacturing), a process where metal, glass, or plastic or anything ...
system used to select second-round pairings by introducing a seeding system. In the draw, held in
Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...
on 19 October, the eight teams were divided into two pots of four; France were seeded along with
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
,
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
and
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
, while Ireland was unseeded, alongside
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
,
Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
and
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. Ireland was drawn to play France, with the first of their two games to be played in Ireland on 14 November 2009. The way the seeding process was handled led some to claim at the time that UEFA had changed the rules halfway through to favour to the higher profile teams like France and Portugal, preferring them to qualify over "smaller" nations. The 18 November date of the second leg of the France vs Republic of Ireland play-off in Saint-Denis coincided with the date of a number of other World Cup qualification matches around the world, marking the completion of the entire qualification process for 2010. With their win, France ultimately joined
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
,
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
,
Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
,
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
and
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
as the last of the 32 competitors in South Africa. Under the agreed tie-break criteria, the team scoring more goals on aggregate wins the play-off. If scores are level on aggregate, the team with the higher number of away goals advances. If teams are level on away goals, 30 minutes of extra time is played. If the score is level after extra time, the match goes to penalties.


Pre-match


Venue selection

The Dublin leg of the tie was held at Croke Park instead of the Republic of Ireland's traditional home venue of
Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium ( ga, Bóthar Lansdún, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for ...
, owing to ongoing redevelopment of that venue as the
Aviva Stadium Aviva Stadium (also known as Lansdowne Road) is a sports stadium located in Dublin, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,700 spectators (all seated). It is built on the site of the former Lansdowne Road Stadium, which was demolished in 2007, and ...
. The French leg was held at Stade de France, the French team's national stadium near Paris.


Analysis

Before 1990, the Republic of Ireland had never qualified for the FIFA World Cup finals, while France's best record was two third-place finishes, in
1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...
and
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...
. Between 1990 and 2006 (the year in which the most recent FIFA World Cup had been held), the Republic of Ireland and France had each qualified for three finals tournaments. The two teams' records for the tournament were as follows:


Matches


Dublin leg


Summary

The Republic of Ireland team chose a balanced
4-4-2 formation In association football, the formation of a team refers to the position players take in relation to each other on a pitch. As association football is a fluid and fast-moving game, a player's position (with the exception of the goalkeeper) in a ...
, while the French team opted for their customary 4-2-3-1 formation, favouring offensive play over defence.


Details


Saint-Denis leg


Summary

A controversial instance of
misconduct Misconduct is wrongful, improper, or unlawful conduct motivated by premeditated or intentional purpose or by obstinate indifference to the consequences of one's acts. It is an act which is forbidden or a failure to do that which is required. Misc ...
occurred during extra time in the second leg of the
two-legged tie In sports (particularly association football), a two-legged tie is a contest between two teams which comprises two matches or "legs", with each team as the home team in one leg. The winning team is usually determined by aggregate score, the sum ...
, when the overall score was standing at 1–1 on aggregate. French player
Florent Malouda Florent Johan Malouda (born 13 June 1980) is a French football coach and former professional player. A left winger, he spent most of his career at Lyon and Chelsea, winning four consecutive Ligue 1 titles with the former and the UEFA Champion ...
took a
free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offe ...
just outside the centre circle in the Irish half of the field. He lofted it toward French captain
Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best player ...
, who was making a run in the
penalty area The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends 16.5m (18 yd) to each side of the goal and 16.5m (18 yd) in front of it. With ...
to Irish
goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
Shay Given Séamus John James Given (born 20 April 1976) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. With 134 caps, he is the second-highest capped Republic of Ireland player. Given started his career at Celtic, however he neve ...
's right-hand side. The ball bounced once to Henry, now inside the
goal area A football pitch (also known as soccer field) is the playing surface for the game of association football. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play". The pitch is typically made of natural tu ...
to the left of the goal. As it bounced upwards, Henry handled the ball twice with his left hand, stopping it going out of play and bringing the ball under control, before tapping the ball with the outside of his right foot past Given standing at the near goal post. The ball travelled the short distance to
William Gallas William Eric Gallas (born 17 August 1977) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender. He played most of his footballing career in France and England before finishing his career in Australia with A-League club Perth Glo ...
arriving in the middle of the goal, who headed the ball into the Irish net to confirm France's place at the
2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
. The referee immediately signalled the goal as being valid. Irish players inside the penalty box appealed the decision by raising their arms, and as Henry wheeled away in celebration around the back of the Irish goal, Given ran to the referee gesticulating that a handball offence had occurred, while Irish manager
Giovanni Trapattoni Giovanni Trapattoni (; born 17 March 1939), sometimes popularly known as "Trap" or "Il Trap", is an Italian football manager and former player, considered the most successful club coach of Italian football. A former defensive midfielder, as a p ...
did the same to the
fourth official In association football, an assistant referee (previously known as a linesman or lineswoman) is an official empowered with assisting the referee in enforcing the Laws of the Game during a match. Although assistants are not required under the L ...
. The handball offence was not seen by the referee or his two assistants, according to the BBC. The match officials also missed an offside during the same phase of play.


Details


Post-match


View of match participants


Thierry Henry

Henry told a reporter after the incident, "Yes, there was hand, but I'm not the referee. Toto was going for the front, I was behind two Irishmen, the ball ricocheted and hit my hand. Of course, I continued to play... The referee did not whistle 'hand' but I can't say there wasn't hand." Henry later defended himself against criticism, stating, "Obviously I would have preferred that things panned out differently but I am not the official. I do not think we have stolen qualification". After FIFA denied the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) request for a replay, Henry released a statement.
The fairest solution would be to replay the game but it is not in my control...Naturally I feel embarrassed at the way that we won and feel extremely sorry for the Irish who definitely deserve to be in South Africa...I have said at the time and I will say again that 'yes' I handled the ball. I am not a cheat and never have been. It was an instinctive reaction to a ball that was coming extremely fast in a crowded penalty area....As a footballer you do not have the luxury of the television to slow the pace of the ball down 100 times to be able to make a conscious decision...People are viewing a slow motion version of what happened and not what I or any other footballer faces in the game. If people look at it in full speed you will see that it was an instinctive reaction.
Henry said that he had considered quitting international football after the reactions to the incident, but was persuaded not to by friends and family. He criticised the
French Football Federation The French Football Federation ( FFF; french: Fédération Française de Football) is the governing body of football in France. It also includes the overseas departments ( Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte and Réunion), the over ...
(FFF) for their lack of support in the aftermath of the controversy. He regretted the immediate celebration of the goal but put it down to the emotion of the moment, and reflected that not informing the referee had been a mistake. On the issue of lasting impact of the incident, Henry said "I don't think that all I have achieved in my career up until now will be spoiled by this". Henry later called FIFA President Sepp Blatter over the incident. Blatter stated Henry had told him his family had been threatened over the incident by fans.


Match referee

The match was officiated by a
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
team. Martin Hansson was the match referee, assisted by his two assistant referees, Fredrik Nilsson and Stefan Wittberg. Referee Hansson told
Sveriges Radio Sveriges Radio AB (, "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a licensing fee, the level of which is d ...
Blekinge Blekinge (, old da, Bleking) is one of the traditional Swedish provinces (), situated in the southern coast of the geographic region of Götaland, in southern Sweden. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea. It is the country's second ...
"I cannot comment on the game itself but life must go on. I will ride this storm as well". In his first substantial comment on the incident, Hansson spoke to the regional Swedish newspaper '' Sydöstran'' on 24 November. While repeating the fact that FIFA rules prevented him commenting on the game until the investigation concluded, he said the incident was neither his or his referee team's fault. Referring to a graphic illustration printed earlier in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' and reproduced in some Swedish newspapers, he said " he graphicclears the whole refereeing team in this incident". The picture, titled 'Why the referee missed it', purported to show how neither the referee or the assistant referee could have seen the handball incident, due to the presence of three Irish players blocking Hansson's view from his position on the edge of the
penalty area The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends 16.5m (18 yd) to each side of the goal and 16.5m (18 yd) in front of it. With ...
, and Irish goalkeeper
Shay Given Séamus John James Given (born 20 April 1976) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. With 134 caps, he is the second-highest capped Republic of Ireland player. Given started his career at Celtic, however he neve ...
's position obscuring the sightline of the assistant referee, Nilsson, who was standing on the right hand touchline. He also stated that the reaction to the game had made him consider quitting his job as a referee. On 21 June, during the World Cup finals, Hansson said, "After the game, we were sitting in the dressing room and I cried. I realized what a mistake it was."


Team managers

Ireland manager
Giovanni Trapattoni Giovanni Trapattoni (; born 17 March 1939), sometimes popularly known as "Trap" or "Il Trap", is an Italian football manager and former player, considered the most successful club coach of Italian football. A former defensive midfielder, as a p ...
stated he did not blame Henry, nor did he expect a replay would occur, but he did believe the incident would bring further pressure on FIFA to introduce
goal-line technology In many outdoor ball sports, a goal line is a line in front of goal post and which a team attempts to advance the ball or puck towards to score a goal or points. In particular, see: * Football pitch A football pitch (also known as soccer fiel ...
, stating "There is a 30-second stop and we clarify the situation...I'm sure in the future they will have to do something about it. It wasn't up to Henry to say 'I touched it with my hand'". Trapattoni also questioned the selection of the match referee, stating "For this important game we needed a stronger referee – an important referee", and went on to also question the format of the qualifying round matches. French team manager
Raymond Domenech Raymond Manuel Albert Domenech (; born 24 January 1952) is a French football manager and former player. He managed the France national team from 2004 to 2010, reaching the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final. He was dismissed after their elimination from ...
said of the game, "I don't see what we could have done better...We needed to qualify and we did that, even if it was painful. Victories like this one, at the end of a difficult campaign, give this side heart and soul", although criticism in France of his team, which had existed before the game, continued. Domenech later criticised the condemnation of Henry and France, and questioned the right of former French players like Cantona and Lizarazu to criticise his record as the French coach.


Other players

Ireland captain and scorer of Ireland's goal in the controversial match Robbie Keane criticised the presidents of FIFA and
UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
following the result, claiming they would be 'delighted' that France had gone through. He told
BBC Radio Five Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcas ...
, "They're all probably clapping hands, Platini sitting up there on the phone to Sepp Blatter, probably texting each other, delighted with the result." After Henry's statement, Keane concurred with his call for a replay in the interest of fair play, stating "On behalf of the Republic of Ireland players, I would like to thank Thierry Henry... As captain of the French team, to make such a statement took courage and honour, and all of us recognise that". In general, the Irish players blamed the officials rather than Henry. Damien Duff admitted he would have done the same had it been to Ireland's advantage, and said: "If it was down the other end and it was going out of play, I would have chanced my arm. You can't blame him (Henry). He's a clever player – but you expect the ref to see it, it was so blatant." Many players, including Duff, supported call for the introduction of video technology.
Sean St Ledger Sean Patrick St Ledger-Hall (born 28 December 1984) is a former professional footballer who played as a defender. Born in England, he played international football for the Republic of Ireland. He was part of the team that lost controversially ...
hoped France would be put in a '
group of death A group of death in a multi-stage tournament is a group which is unusually competitive, because the number of strong competitors in the group is greater than the number of qualifying places available for the next phase of the tournament. Thus, i ...
' in the World Cup draw, but feared they might go on to win the tournament. Defender
Richard Dunne Richard Patrick Dunne (born 21 September 1979) is an Irish former footballer and current television pundit for BT Sport, who played as a defender. He made 431 Premier League appearances, including 253 for Manchester City. Dunne began his prof ...
later spoke of how he was unaware of the extent of Henry's involvement when he sat down with him on the pitch at the end of the match and admitted the handball. Dunne ready to put Paris behind him, Raidió Teilifís Éireann, Friday, 4 December 2009 15:34 Dunne properly viewed the incident for the first time on a computer in his team's dressing room. He also described how "heartbreaking" the whole experience was, his lack of interest in the draw or who France's opponents might be in the finals and how "disappointing" it would be when the tournament eventually took place. Given was critical of Sepp Blatter's later actions, stating his various announcements "rubbed salt in the wounds" and his contradictory comments about Henry were "beyond a joke". He expressed doubt he would get over the incident in his lifetime. Of Henry, he said "I'm not saying he's a cheat but what he's done is illegal". Dunne was later critical of Blatter's offer of moral compensation, describing it as " taking the mickey". He doubted Robbie Keane would be going to FIFA to collect any such award. He reiterated the belief that ever since the earlier seedings controversy, FIFA had been showing France unfair favour.


Action taken


FAI appeal

The FAI filed a formal complaint with FIFA and the FFF, stating, "The handball was recognised by the FIFA commissioner, the referee observer and the match officials, as well as by the player himself." The FAI cited precedent for the invalidation of the result, using the example of a previous World Cup qualification match between
Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...
and
Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
, overturned by FIFA due to a 'technical error by the referee of the match'. In that game, the referee had failed to have a penalty kick re-taken after an attacker encroached on the penalty area. FAI chief executive John Delaney said "It is up to the people who govern the game now, if they really believe in the principles of fair play then step forward....If we had qualified in this manner, I wouldn't be happy" The president of the (FFF) Jean-Pierre Escalettes said "You have to take a philosophical approach to this match." On 20 November, FIFA rejected the request for a replay, stating to the FAI:
The result of the match cannot be changed and the match cannot be replayed. As is clearly mentioned in the Laws of the Game, during matches, decisions are taken by the referee and these decisions are final.
After FIFA and Thierry Henry's statement, the FAI urged the FFF to respect their views and those of the captains of both teams, to replay the game to "protect the integrity of the game worldwide". The FFF, while sympathetic, endorsed the FIFA ruling. Following the FFF's refusal to support a replay, the FAI expressed "deep disappointment".


FAI proposals and 33rd team place

At the request of the FAI, Sepp Blatter met an Irish delegation in
Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...
for 90 minutes on Friday 27 November. The FAI proposed a number of ways the incident could be prevented in future and, agreeing that the match could not be replayed, they instead also officially requested to be allowed to enter the World Cup as an unprecedented extra 33rd entrant. Blatter stated that he would raise the Irish request at an
extraordinary general meeting An extraordinary general meeting, commonly abbreviated as EGM, is a meeting of members of an organisation, shareholders of a company, or employees of an official body that occurs at an irregular time.' The term is usually used where the group wou ...
(EGM) of the FIFA executive committee. RTÉ Sport speculated that the request would be "politely turned down". The request drew 'laughter' when he relayed it to the Soccerex conference the following Monday. Blatter was of the opinion that if the Republic of Ireland were admitted as an extra entrant,
Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
would also have to be considered as well, having also been unfairly eliminated by an offside goal in a play-off against
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
. FIFA secretary-general Jerome Valcke had ruled it out on 1 December, one day before the meeting, clarifying that Blatter's comments regarding other teams had already shown the request was "impossible" and had "no hope" of being granted. According to ''The Guardian'' on 30 November, the Irish had not expected the request to be successful, but they had also "asked FIFA to consider compensating them in some other way, perhaps by seeding them in the draw for the 2014 World Cup". The FAI's proposals included: no changes to competition formats mid-tournament (referring to the play off group seeding change), introduce video technology at the highest level, implement additional assistant referees behind the goal line for all international matches, introduce stronger sanctions for players who breach the Laws of the Game in a "match defining way", and issuing a statement that "FIFA does not condone breaches" of those Laws, referring to Sepp Blatter's previous statements of empathy with Henry. The FAI stated they did not ask for any action to be taken against Henry. Delaney reacted angrily to Blatter's public disclosure of what was intended to be a confidential submission to the FIFA executive committee, complaining to the FIFA general secretary and calling it "disrespectful to our country", and stating the 33rd team proposal had been "very much peripheral" to their suggestions, and was only discussed "for a minute or two" in the meeting. The FAI asserted that the 33rd place request had not even been included in any of the written submissions to FIFA.


Sepp Blatter

Blatter had initially faced criticism for refusing to comment on the incident. His first comments came with a report in ''
L'Équipe ''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby football, rugby, motorsport, and cycle sport, ...
'', and during his opening address at the Soccerex football conference in
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
, South Africa, both on Sunday 29 November. Blatter said that it had not been Henry's responsibility to tell the referee of the misdemeanour, comparing a similar incident in his own playing career, when he did not tell the referee about an advantage gained by shirt-pulling. Blatter said that referee Hansson "should have taken the time to reflect rather than immediately awarding the goal". On the issue of fair play, Blatter said "There is a lack of discipline and respect in the game by the players because they are cheating" and "How can it happen that all over the world, through TV cameras, we have seen through a cheating handball that a pass was given for a goal? Everyone is asking what is and what isn't fair play. The highest crime in football is touching the ball with the hands". Referring to the possibility of using assistant referees or goal line technology, Blatter stated, "match control is now is on the agenda. How shall we avoid such situations as we have seen in this very specific match?" Blatter repeated his stated opposition to video refereeing, saying, "With technology, you have to stop a match. You have a look at cameras... We have to maintain the human face of football and not go into technology." On the issue of fair play at the World Cup, Blatter commented after the FIFA executive committee's EGM:
I appeal to all the players and coaches to observe this fair play. In 2010 we want to prove that football is more than just kicking a ball but has social and cultural value... So we ask the players 'please observe fair play' so they will be an example to the rest of the world
Blatter apologised to the FAI on 2 December for the public disclosure of the FAI's submission to FIFA and for the media's perception of his comments at Soccerex, saying, "I have nothing against the Irish, they were very sporting people when they came to FIFA and it is a pity that it has been now communicated in this way." After the EGM, John Delaney described FIFA as the "biggest losers" in the controversy for having "made one mistake after another", referring to the mid-competition change in seeding rules for the play-off, the negative imagery of football as a whole generated by FIFA's actions and Henry's goal, and Sepp Blatter's subsequent dealings with the FAI.


FIFA executive committee

On 23 November FIFA announced that the FIFA executive committee would hold an
extraordinary general meeting An extraordinary general meeting, commonly abbreviated as EGM, is a meeting of members of an organisation, shareholders of a company, or employees of an official body that occurs at an irregular time.' The term is usually used where the group wou ...
(EGM) on 2 December in
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
, where members were already due to meet to discuss the seedings for the World Cup, in order to discuss various recent incidents affecting the world game. According to
BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...
sports news correspondent Gordon Farquhar, the Henry incident would be "high on the agenda".
Gordon Smith Gordon Smith may refer to: In politics *Gordon H. Smith (born 1952), former U.S. Senator from Oregon, and current Area Authority for the LDS Church * Gordon Elsworth Smith (1918–2005), Canadian politician * Gordon Smith (academic) (1927–2009), ...
, the chief executive of the
Scottish Football Association The Scottish Football Association (also known as the SFA and the Scottish FA; sco, Scots Fitba Association; Scottish Gaelic: ''Comann Ball-coise na h-Alba'') is the Sport governing body, governing body of association football, football in Scot ...
and a member of the
International Football Association Board The International Football Association Board (IFAB) is the body that determines the Laws of the Game of association football. IFAB was founded in 1886 to agree standardised Laws for international competition, and has since acted as the "guardia ...
, believed that introduction of AARs in time for the World Cup would be pressed for at the EGM by UEFA president
Michel Platini Michel François Platini (born 21 June 1955) is a French football administrator and former player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon d'Or three times in a row, in 1983, 1984 and 1985, ...
, who had been a long-time supporter of the concept; Smith said of the proposal, "I feel that it has its advantages at the highest levels of the games. When there's massive TV coverage the problems are highlighted all over the world so this is something we may have to look at." The FAI was to be given the chance to present their views at the EGM, with Delaney hoping it would not be a "token" gesture, criticising the lack of direct contact from FIFA. FIFA President Sepp Blatter confirmed on 30 November that the EGM would consider the use of AARs and goal-line technology in the 2010 World Cup, and changing the two-legged play-off qualification format, possibly in favour of a single game played at a neutral venue. The EGM was held on 2 December at the
Cape Town International Convention Centre The Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) is a convention centre in Cape Town, South Africa. The centre opened in June 2003. It is run as a partnership between the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape government. Venues The c ...
. The executive committee at the time consisted of FIFA president Sepp Blatter, eight vice-presidents and 15 members, and the FIFA general secretary Jérôme Valcke. The membership included representatives of various confederations and associations around the world. In response to Blatter's comments at Soccerex and before the EGM, the FAI formally notified FIFA in writing that they were withdrawing their request to enter the World Cup as a 33rd team, and accordingly this matter was not considered. The FAI's other suggestions were, however, discussed. According to FIFA, the EGM discussion resulted in "concrete proposals" to ensure that improvements were made on the issues raised. According to Blatter, the committee recognised the game was at a "crossroads" and that, at the highest levels, where 32 cameras were to be used to film the 2010 World Cup, it was now "impossible" for just the referee and his two assistants to "see everything". The EGM announced that FIFA would be setting up an inquiry into future use of extra assistants and technology. The new inquiry would, according to Blatter, "have a look at technology or additional persons". Described as a "full inquiry" or "working party" by media commentators, it was to comprise a new FIFA committee with input drawn in part from the existing FIFA referees', football, technical and medical committees. The expected introduction of AARs for the 2010 World Cup was ruled out. The committee "stressed that it would be too soon to implement this new system at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa." Blatter explained that, as AARs had not yet been trialled outside of Europe, the committee was of the opinion that any experiment must be carried out "globally" before it could be used in a World Cup. Blatter confirmed that the experiment with AAR's in the
Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
would continue into the 2010 knock-out stages. The meeting also ruled out the use of
video referee Instant replay or action replay is a video reproduction of something that recently occurred which was both shot and broadcast live. The video, having already been shown live, is replayed in order for viewers to see again and analyze what had j ...
ing systems similar to those seen in rugby, cricket and tennis. Blatter stated that two companies investigating
goal-line technology In many outdoor ball sports, a goal line is a line in front of goal post and which a team attempts to advance the ball or puck towards to score a goal or points. In particular, see: * Football pitch A football pitch (also known as soccer fiel ...
were due to report their results to
International Football Association Board The International Football Association Board (IFAB) is the body that determines the Laws of the Game of association football. IFAB was founded in 1886 to agree standardised Laws for international competition, and has since acted as the "guardia ...
(IFAB) in March 2010. FIFA also called on the general secretaries of the Continental Federations to propose improvements to the format of the qualification and play-off phase of the World Cup competition, for submission by March 2010.


Henry disciplinary investigation

On the issue of possible disciplinary sanctions against Henry individually, a FIFA spokesperson stated "The ndependentdisciplinary commission...will decide if the case is of interest hen they meet sometime in the next two weeks The possibility exists of sanctioning a player for unsporting behaviour on the basis of video evidence". Examples of FIFA disciplinary action taken against players for incidents missed by the referee based on video evidence include banning
Mauro Tassotti Mauro Tassotti (; born in Rome, 19 January 1960) is an Italian manager and former footballer who played predominantly as a right-back. He currently serves as an assistant coach at Genoa. After making his Serie A debut with Lazio, he went on to ...
for eight games for use of an elbow during the 1994 World Cup quarter-final, and banning
Marco Materazzi Marco Materazzi (; born 19 August 1973) is an Italian former professional footballer and manager. Early in his career, Materazzi played with various Italian teams in Serie B and Serie C, and with Everton in the Premier League. He spent two per ...
for two games for his verbal provocation of
Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the most ...
in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final, resulting in the infamous headbutting incident. On 2 December after the FIFA EGM it was announced that FIFA's disciplinary committee would open an investigation into Henry's handball. No timetable was given for when the investigation, chaired by
Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...
lawyer Marcel Mathier, would rule on the case. Blatter said of the decision to single out Henry for investigation of a handball:
I have not said that Thierry Henry will be punished, I have said that Thierry Henry will be examined y the committee..it's not a question of this player or another – it was blatant unfair play and was seen all around the world...let
he committee He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
make the decision. Fair play must be maintained in our game
According to the Associated Press, the committee had the "authority to impose a one-match suspension on Henry, which would take effect at the start of the World Cup in June". According to the BBC, FIFA said "there was no certainty Henry would be banned if found guilty". On 18 January 2010 it was announced that Henry would face no sanctions in relation to the incident, after the committee found it had "no legal foundation" to deal with the case, as the relevant rules only covered sanctions for preventing a goal by illegally handling the ball. FIFA rules reportedly forbade any other action as the referee had not seen the original incident. FIFA released the following statement:
the Disciplinary Committee reached the conclusion that there was no legal foundation for the committee to consider the case because handling the ball cannot be regarded as a serious infringement as stipulated in article 77a of the FIFA Disciplinary Code. There is no other legal text that would allow the committee to impose sanctions for any incidents missed by match officials.
The FFF president Jean-Pierre Escalettes hoped the announcement would mark the end of the incident, stating of the decision that is "not astonishing, it is logical".


France national team

FIFA secretary general Jérôme Valcke later denied that France's absence from the top 8 seeded teams for the 2010 World Cup draw had been a result of the controversy, stating that the change to the seeding system (using the world rankings as they stood at October 2009) was fairer than past systems. The FFF president described the decision as logical, although former French coach
Michel Hidalgo Michel François Hidalgo (22 March 1933 – 26 March 2020) was a French professional footballer and manager. He was the head coach of the French national team from 1976 to 1984, with whom he won the UEFA Euro 1984 on home soil, also reaching th ...
disagreed. In a quirk of the resulting draw, the lack of seeding ultimately did not have a detrimental effect on France, as they were drawn into
Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles w ...
; since the seeding place in Group A had already been allocated to the host nation
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, a Group A draw was the only possible outcome where France would not have been placed into a group with one of the top seven seeded teams. South Africa were ranked 86th in the world at the time, making them the lowest-ranked team competing in the tournament; ''The Irish Times'' commented that this turn of events in France's favour would cause the Irish to feel particularly aggrieved. At the finals, France ultimately failed to qualify from their group, failing to win a game and managing only a solitary point in their first match against Uruguay; following a major disruption at the team's camp by the French players. France and the Republic of Ireland did not meet in the qualifying matches for the 2012 European Championships. France were drawn in Group D while Ireland were drawn in
Group B Group B was a set of regulations for grand touring (GT) vehicles used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World Sportscar ...
, although they were drawn together in the practice run for the draw held the day before.


FAI compensation

After the FIFA EGM, John Delaney said, "In terms of the football side, this is the end of the matter", but that "the incident will linger long in the memory like Diego Maradona's handball." Delaney hoped the promise of an inquiry into refereeing and technology was "not a
fudge Fudge is a type of confection that is made by mixing sugar, butter and milk, heating it to the soft-ball stage at , and then beating the mixture while it cools so that it acquires a smooth, creamy consistency. In texture, this crystalline cand ...
." The FAI and FIFA were however due to meet again after the EGM according to Blatter, to discuss some form of non-financial compensation for the controversy. On 4 June 2015 it emerged during an RTÉ interview that FIFA had bought the FAI's silence with a €5 million payment which would prevent any legal action against them.


Match officials

In January 2010, match referee Hansson and his assistant Stefan Wittberg were both selected as one of the thirty officiating teams to be used at the 2010 World Cup; however, Hansson's other assistant on the day of the incident, Fredrik Nilsson who missed the handball, was not selected, being replaced by Henrik Andrén. FIFA had insisted at the time of the incident that, since selection of referees for the World Cup referee was based on long-term assessments, Hansson would probably make it to the finals. UEFA president
Michel Platini Michel François Platini (born 21 June 1955) is a French football administrator and former player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon d'Or three times in a row, in 1983, 1984 and 1985, ...
called it a good decision, defending Hansson as having not been responsible for the incident as he had not seen the handball.


Reaction

The incident has been compared to Maradona's infamous "Hand of God" goal in the 1986 World Cup, which led to the incident being labelled as the "Hand of
Frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...
" the "Hand of Gaul" and the "Hand of Henry" affair.


Governments and politicians

Irish
Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
Brian Cowen Brian Bernard Cowen (born 10 January 1960) is an Irish former politician who served as Taoiseach and Leader of Fianna Fáil from 2008 to 2011. Cowen was elected to Dáil Éireann in 1984, for the constituency of Laois–Offaly and served in a ...
called on FIFA for a replay, stating that "fair play is a fundamental part of the game". Cowen raised the issue with French President
Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...
while both were at the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
summit in
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
on 19 November 2009. After the summit, Sarkozy stated, "I told Brian Cowen how sorry I was for them...But don't ask me to substitute myself for the referee, or the French football authorities, or the European football authorities." The incident was criticised in
Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...
, the lower house of the Irish Parliament. The Irish Minister for Justice
Dermot Ahern Dermot Christopher Ahern (born 20 April 1955) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Justice and Law Reform from 2008 to 2011, Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2004 to 2008, Minister for Communications, Marine a ...
called on FIFA to act in the interests of fair play. The French Prime Minister
François Fillon François Charles Armand Fillon (; born 4 March 1954) is a retired French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 2007 to 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. He was the nominee of the Republicans (previously known as the Union ...
stated that the 'Irish government should not interfere in footballing decisions'.
Rama Yade Rama Yade (born Mame Ramatoulaye Yade; 13 December 1976) is a Senegalese-born French politician and the author of several books. She served as the French Secretary of Human Rights from 2007 to 2009, and the Secretary of Sports from 2009 to 2010 ...
, French Secretary of State for Sports, and FFF vice-president Noël Le Graët both defended Henry from accusations of intentional cheating, pointing to his playing record, and stating that he should be presumed innocent unless he stated he deliberately set out to cheat. The French Sports Minister
Roselyne Bachelot Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, generally known as Roselyne Bachelot (née Narquin; born 24 December 1946) is a French politician who served as Minister of Culture in the government of Prime Minister Jean Castex (2020–2022) and as Minister of Soli ...
and
Christine Lagarde Christine Madeleine Odette Lagarde (; née Lallouette, ; born 1 January 1956) is a French politician and lawyer who has been serving as President of the European Central Bank since 2019. She previously served as the 11th managing director of the ...
Minister of Economic Affairs were sympathetic to the Irish viewpoint.


Sports administrators

On the eve of Henry's possible punishment being discussed at the FIFA EGM, FFF technical director
Gérard Houllier Gérard Paul Francis Houllier (; 3 September 194714 December 2020) was a French professional football manager and player. Clubs he managed include Paris Saint-Germain, Lens and Liverpool, where he won the FA Cup, League Cup, FA Charity Shield, U ...
defended Henry, stating the handball was instinctive and that the blame lay with the referee, pointing out that had the goal not been scored, the match would still have gone to penalties. Houllier also called for the introduction of video refereeing. According to ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', the organiser of the 2010 World Cup
Danny Jordaan Daniel Alexander "Danny" Jordaan (born 3 September 1951) is the president of the South African Football Association ( SAFA). He is a former lecturer, politician and anti-apartheid activist. He led South Africa's successful 2010 FIFA World Cup bid ...
resisted calls for video refereeing and believed that 'disputed decisions should be considered part of football'. Leslie Irvine, the
Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...
former referee and FIFA instructor on the referee selection panel for the 2010 World Cup, was of the opinion that referee Hansson was not to blame for the incident, as by simply not seeing the incident he had not committed a 'technical infringement', and said Thierry Henry bore "moral responsibility" for the controversy.
Jacques Rogge Jacques Jean Marie Rogge, Count Rogge (, ; 2 May 1942 – 29 August 2021) was a Belgian sports administrator and physician who served as the eighth President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 2001 to 2013. In 2013, Rogge beca ...
, president of the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
(IOC) praised Henry's decision to express his regrets over the affair, but declined to comment further, having not seen the incident. On the eve of the FIFA EGM, FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke, while lamenting the fact that after 853 matches in the qualifying process, only one was being talked about, he said "It's important to make sure what happened will not happen again".


Football personalities

While in
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
on 26 November for a charity event, Pelé said "maybe the linesman could help, but even the linesman doesn't see the game. We say fair play, but you know I don't think it was unfair, something that goes in one second... The result was unfair, but unfortunately you can't change that"
Sky Sports News Sky Sports News (SSN) is a British pay television, paid television sports news channel run by Sky Limited, Sky, a division of Comcast. History Since 1992, Sky Sports had broadcast sports news, initially a brief ''Football Update'' and lat ...
''Football Today'' 26 November 2009 13.00 GMT
Football pundits
Johnny Giles Michael John Giles (born 6 November 1940) is an Irish former association football player and manager best remembered for his time as a midfielder with Leeds United in the 1960s and 1970s. After retiring from management in 1985, Giles served as t ...
,
Eamon Dunphy Eamon Martin Dunphy (born 3 August 1945) is an Irish media personality, journalist, broadcaster, author, sports pundit and former professional association football, footballer. He grew up playing football for several youth teams including Stella ...
and
Graeme Souness Graeme James Souness (; born 6 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager, and current TV pundit. A midfielder, Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s, player-manager of Ranger ...
, analysing the video replays on
RTÉ Two (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...
, disputed whether Shay Given or anybody else was obscuring the view of the assistant referee from seeing the incident, although they were not certain the assistant could have flagged with certainty for handball even if he had a clear line of sight, due to the speed of the incident and flight of the ball. Former Irish international and football pundit
Mark Lawrenson Mark Thomas Lawrenson (born 2 June 1957) is a former professional footballer who played as a defender for Liverpool, among others, during the 1970s and 1980s. After a short career as a manager, he then became a radio, television and internet pu ...
said "The man cheated. He controlled the ball with the second handball. It is a Maradona moment". Another former Irish international
Tony Cascarino Anthony Guy Cascarino (born 1 September 1962) is a former professional association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), striker for various British and French clubs and internationally for the Republic of Ireland ...
wrote in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' that Henry "speaks so eloquently, but to me now he'll always be insincere, a faker, someone who cares only about himself". Former French international
David Ginola David Ginola-Ceze (born 25 January 1967) is a French former professional footballer who has also worked as an actor, model and football pundit. A former forward, Ginola played football for ten seasons in France before moving from Paris Saint-G ...
said "I'm very embarrassed by the situation...I don’t feel very proud to be French this morning. The Irish played very well and they deserved to go through as much as France, maybe more. I'm very surprised FIFA haven't mentioned anything about it – the whole world saw the handball. This is a pure injustice. Everyone in France, the press and everyone, says there should be a replay". Former Ireland captain Roy Keane said the attempt by the FAI to get a replay was "rubbish", telling them to "get over it", that France were there for the taking and Ireland should not have allowed Henry to be in such a good position in the first place. Keane later apologised to any Irish fans offended by his "over the top" comments. Henry's former France teammate
Bixente Lizarazu Bixente Jean-Michel Lizarazu (, born 9 December 1969) is a French former professional footballer who played as a left back for Bordeaux and Bayern Munich, among other teams. He also had 97 caps for the France national team. In a twelve-year ...
stated "It was not something to be proud of. I'm not going to party." Henry's former
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
and France teammate
Emmanuel Petit Emmanuel Laurent Petit (born 22 September 1970) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder at club level for Arsenal, Barcelona, Monaco, and Chelsea. He represented France at international level in two FIFA ...
wrote that "The feeling among the French public on Thursday morning was one of embarrassment – we didn't want to qualify in controversial circumstances, we wanted to beat Ireland by playing within the rules" and "Thierry's handball will not send out a good message", but he was of the opinion that this "very rare indiscretion" would not damage his reputation, explaining that "There is a referee on the pitch and if he didn't see that's not France's problem." Petit later criticised FIFA and UEFA for their lack of support for Henry, and believed that Henry had saved Raymond Domenech's job. French player
Patrice Evra Patrice Latyr Evra (; born 15 May 1981) is a French football coach and former professional player. Originally a forward, he primarily played as a left-back. Evra served as captain for both Manchester United and the France national team. His ...
questioned the patriotism of those French people attacking Henry, and was of the opinion that those same people would have criticised Henry had he informed the referee he had committed handball. Former French captain
Patrick Vieira Patrick Vieira (born 23 June 1976) is a French professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Crystal Palace. He is widely considered as one of the greatest midfielders of his generation. Vieira began his career at ...
blamed the referee for the controversy, and supported the idea of video refereeing or having a fifth referee to assist in games. Former French international
Eric Cantona Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona (; ; born 24 May 1966) is a French actor, director, producer, and former professional footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Cantona is credited as having made Manchester United a d ...
was critical of Domenech, and referring to Henry's immediate post-match act of consoling an Irish player, said "If I'd been Irish, he wouldn't have lasted three seconds." Another former Arsenal teammate
Lee Dixon Lee Michael Dixon (born 17 March 1964) is an English retired professional footballer and pundit who played as a right-back for Arsenal. Dixon was also capped 22 times for England. A childhood Manchester City fan, Dixon began his footballing ...
wrote that Henry had gone down in a lot of Arsenal fans' estimations, and Henry "has been a truly great footballer – one of the best players we've ever seen in the Premier League – but now people will remember him for that goal against Ireland. It's really sad". England footballer
David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending fr ...
defended Henry, stating "I honestly didn't think Thierry meant it...I know him as a player and a person. He's a good person and a great player... these things happen in football" Henry's former Arsenal manager and Frenchman
Arsène Wenger Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger (; born 22 October 1949) is a French former association football, football Manager (association football), manager and football player, player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Developme ...
said of the incident that "This isn't the French way and football should learn from this", although he theorised that Henry did not inform the referee due to "the pressure and what's at stake". Wenger later added, "For the sense of justice it is quite embarrassing to see...I think even France is embarrassed...we won the game and won the qualification with a goal that was not a goal". Wenger believed Henry, who was one of the "fairest
layers Layer or layered may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Layers'' (Kungs album) * ''Layers'' (Les McCann album) * ''Layers'' (Royce da 5'9" album) *"Layers", the title track of Royce da 5'9"'s sixth studio album *Layer, a female Maveric ...
I've managed", was being unfairly left to face criticism by France, and that the real issue was the lack of technology being in place. Manchester United manager
Sir Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all tim ...
was of the opinion that "every player and manager in the world" thinks that "technology can play a part" to help referees, but recognised that it was FIFA who had to be convinced. Henry's club manager of Barcelona, Pep Guardiola said as Henry returned to training in Spain that he "is not proud to have done that, but it wasn't premeditated", and gave guarded support for use of video refereeing. German
Robert Huth Robert Huth (, ; born 18 August 1984) is a German former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is a three-time Premier League winner and has made the most Premier League appearances (322) by a German player. Huth was signed ...
expressed sympathy with the Irish, but on the merits of a replay, contrasted the lack of a replay after the controversial goal in the
1966 World Cup final The 1966 FIFA World Cup Final was a association football, football match played at Wembley Stadium (1923), Wembley Stadium, London, on 30 July 1966 to determine the winner of the 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth FIFA World Cup. The match was conte ...
. Danish goalkeeper Brian Jensen said "He didn't do it on purpose? Blah blah blah. My 'beep'. I won't say the word cheats – but ... I said it".
Thierry Roland Thierry José Roland (; 4 August 1937 – 16 June 2012) was a French sports commentator who was France's leading football commentator for 59 years. He began his career as a radio journalist for the ORTF when he was just 16 years old. Roland the ...
, described by ''
the Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' as the "
doyen Doyen and doyenne (from the French word ''doyen'', ''doyenne'' in the feminine grammatical gender) is the senior ambassador by length of service in a particular country. In the English language, the meaning of doyen (feminine form: doyenne) ha ...
of French TV football commentators", said of the game "It's a scandal, a shame with a capital S."


Media

According to the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, the game "attracted mass news coverage across Europe".
Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, D.C ...
(AFP) described how the result of the game sparked an "international outcry" and how as a result of the handball, Henry had been "pilloried as a cheat around the globe". ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine immediately named Henry as number 1 in a List of Sporting Cheats, ahead of Crashgate (listed as number 2),
Black Sox Scandal The Black Sox Scandal was a Major League Baseball game-fixing scandal in which eight members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of throwing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for money from a gambling syndicate l ...
,
Ben Johnson Ben, Benjamin or Benny Johnson may refer to: In sports Association football * Ben Johnson (footballer, born 2000), English footballer * Ben Johnson (soccer) (born 1977), American soccer player Other codes of football *Ben Johnson (Australian foot ...
,
Tonya Harding Tonya Maxene Price (née Harding; born November 12, 1970) is an American former figure skater, retired boxer and a reality television personality. Born in Portland, Oregon, Harding was raised primarily by her mother, who enrolled her in ice sk ...
,
Doping in East Germany The government of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) conducted a decades long program of coercive administration and distribution of performance-enhancing drugs, initially testosterone, later mainly anabolic drugs to its elite athletes. The ai ...
, Rivaldo at the 2002 World Cup,
Boris Onishchenko Boris Grigoryevich Onishchenko (Russian and uk, Борис Григорьевич Онищенко, links=no, ; also transliterated as Onyshchenko, Onishenko, Onischenko; born 19 September 1937) is a former Soviet modern pentathlete who compete ...
, Basketboo,
Hansie Cronje Wessel Johannes "Hansie" Cronje (25 September 1969 – 1 June 2002) was a South African international cricketer and captain of the South African national cricket team in the 1990s. A right-handed all-rounder, as captain Cronje led his team to vi ...
and the original Hand of God goal (listed as number 11).
Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...
estimated qualification for the 2010 World Cup was worth £26.7m to Irish football, and was worth a similar amount to the French. FAI chief executive John Delaney denied the issue was about money, rather a matter of "fair play and integrity". The 2010 tournament prize money was later confirmed by FIFA as being $9m for participating, a further $9m for exiting the group stage, with potential prize totals rising to $30m for the eventual winners. Spanish media, where Henry had played his club football since leaving England in 2007, took great interest in the event. The Spanish daily sports newspaper
Diario Marca ''Marca'' (), stylised as ''MARCA'', is Spain's national daily sport newspaper owned by Unidad Editorial. The newspaper focuses primarily on football, in particular the day-to-day activities of Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, and Atlético Madrid ...
carried the headline "Football rails against 'cheating' Henry". French newspaper ''
L'Équipe ''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby football, rugby, motorsport, and cycle sport, ...
'' greeted the incident with the headline 'Hand of God', while ''
Le Parisien ''Le Parisien'' (; French for "The Parisian") is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris and its suburbs. It is owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, better known as LVMH. Histor ...
'' had "Henry Saves France With His Hand.", and ''
Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of reco ...
'' led with "Henry: 'I Am Not the Referee'." L'Equipe also wrote, "France have qualified for the 2010 World Cup, that's for sure, but the result, the most essential thing in sport after all, is not enough to erase the uneasy feeling we had last night". ''
Le Parisien ''Le Parisien'' (; French for "The Parisian") is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris and its suburbs. It is owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, better known as LVMH. Histor ...
'' also wrote "The handball of Henry has brought a decisive contribution to the theme 'being French is being ashamed of one's national team'". ''
Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...
'' noted the lack of any calls for a replay following the controversial penalty for handball that went in Ireland's favour, during their previous
Group 8 Group 8 may refer to: * Group 8 element, a series of elements in the Periodic Table * Group 8 Rugby League, a rugby league competition * Group 8 (Sweden), a feminist movement in Sweden * Group VIII, former nomenclature for the noble gas The n ...
qualifying game against
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
on 11 February 2009. Australia's ''Daily Telegraph'' said Henry would "earn a place in infamy as one of the biggest cheats in world sport". Swedish newspapers advocated that the Swedish referee used for the match Martin Hansson be removed from further major international assignments. ''
Aftonbladet ''Aftonbladet'' (, lit. "The evening paper") is a Swedish daily newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of the largest daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. History and profile The newspaper was founded by Lars Johan H ...
'' declared of the officials "that Team Hansson has also forfeited its right to continue to take charge of major international matches. Anything else would be a further insult to the Irish nation". Mark Ogden of ''
The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'' criticised Henry for not informing referee Hansson during the game, and speculated the incident would 'ruin his career', comparing the cases of referees
Anders Frisk Anders Frisk (born 18 February 1963) is a Swedish insurance agent by trade and a former football referee. Frisk chose to go into early retirement from refereeing due to pressure from death threats made against him and his family. He is fluent ...
and
Tom Henning Øvrebø Tom Henning Øvrebø (born 26 June 1966) is a Norwegian former football referee. He has been a UEFA Elite referee, having refereed matches in the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Champions League. Øvrebø has also worked as a qualified psychologist ou ...
. In Britain, where Henry had spent much of his club career, '' The Suns headline was "Le Hand of God: Cheat Theirry Does A Maradona.", while ''
The Daily Mirror ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' was "French Nickers.", with ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' using "Hand Gaul!". The ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' speculated the incident had the potential to ruin his reputation with a moment of "eternal notoriety". The Guardian's chief sportswriter Richard Williams wrote that the incident was worse than Maradona's foul, describing his handball as "a street kid's instinct", while Henry's was "a sophisticated man, and a much-decorated one." Williams also critiqued Henry's decision not to inform the referee, citing previous club football examples of players not taking advantage of a referee's mistake: Robbie Fowler in 1997 unsuccessfully pleading for the referee not to give a penalty in his favour,
Paolo Di Canio Paolo Di Canio (born 9 July 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer and manager. During his playing career he made over 500 league appearances and scored over one hundred goals as a forward. He primarily played as a deep-lying forward ...
in 2000 catching the ball rather than scoring past an incapacitated goalkeeper, and Costin Lazăr in 2009 successfully insisting he would not take the penalty awarded to him for what he saw as a fair challenge. Henri Astier wrote for
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
that the reaction in France, a "nation not particularly known for its moral qualms", had ranged from "embarrassment to outrage".
Dominic Lawson Dominic Ralph Campden Lawson (born 17 December 1956) is a British journalist. Background Lawson was born to a Jewish family, the elder son of Conservative politician Nigel Lawson and his first wife socialite Vanessa Salmon. Lawson was educated ...
wrote in ''The Sunday Times'' that "
reland Adriaan Reland (also known as ''Adriaen Reeland/Reelant'', ''Hadrianus Relandus'') (17 July 1676, De Rijp, North Holland5 February 1718, UtrechtJohn Gorton, ''A General Biographical Dictionary'', 1838, Whittaker & Co.) was a noted Dutch Orientali ...
has taken on the role of unjustly oppressed victim – something the Irish do well, having had several centuries of practice". Patrick Barclay, Chief Football Correspondent for ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', declared that the Henry incident "ended the argument" over the issue of video refereeing. ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' also speculated that the incident might lead to a fast-tracked global deployment of the Additional Assistant Referee (AAR) system already under trial by FIFA, pointing out that under the trial configuration, the extra goal-line assistant would have been standing directly in front of Henry as he touched the ball with his hand. FIFA confirmed the AAR plan was to be discussed at the March 2010
International Football Association Board The International Football Association Board (IFAB) is the body that determines the Laws of the Game of association football. IFAB was founded in 1886 to agree standardised Laws for international competition, and has since acted as the "guardia ...
meeting. On the issue of football introducing AAR's, ''The Wall Street Journal'' compared and contrasted the demands on referees in the World Cup compared to those in
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
,
National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
and
boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
, and relayed the negative experience of U.S. Soccer a decade previously, who took part in an international trial using two referees, one in each half, which 'led to poor game management'. The Times also questioned Henry's record on fair play, recalling his comments and actions during controversial incidents in a 2001/2 Champions League game against Panathinaikos, in the 2001 FA Cup Final, in the 2006 World Cup games against Spain and Portugal, in the 2006 Champions League Final and 2006–07 Champions League game against CSKA Moscow. Tim Rich of ''The Independent'' urged for video refereeing, asserting that the Europa League trial of AAR's had "not been an unqualified success", citing a failure of intervention by the goal line official in a game between
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
, in which the players had to intervene themselves to ensure the main referee, Belgian
Paul Allaerts Paul Allaerts (born 9 July 1964 in Mol, Belgium) is a Belgian former football referee. Outside sport Allaerts works as an IT manager. Allaerts began refereeing in 1985 and took charge of his first Belgian First Division game in 1996. He is one o ...
, identified the correct man to send off after a foul on
Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
player
John Arne Riise John Arne Semundseth Riise (born 24 September 1980) is a Norwegian professional football manager and former player who played as a left back and a left midfielder. He is currently the manager of Toppserien club Avaldsnes. With 110 caps, Riise is ...
, after mistakenly identifying the offender as
Brede Hangeland Brede Paulsen Hangeland (born 20 June 1981) is a Norwegian former professional footballer who played as a central defender. He began his career with Viking, where he won the Norwegian Cup in 2001. In 2006, he moved to Copenhagen, and went on to ...
. The player sent off was Stephen Kelly, ironically an unused Irish substitute in the controversial France game. Jonathan Clegg debated in ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' the effect of the incident on Henry's lucrative sponsorship deals, comparing it to incidents such as
ING Group The ING Group ( nl, ING Groep) is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Amsterdam. Its primary businesses are retail banking, direct banking, commercial banking, investment banking, wholesale bankin ...
's withdrawal from the
Renault F1 The French automotive manufacturer Renault has been associated with Formula One as both team owner and engine manufacturer for various periods since 1977. In 1977, the company entered Formula One as a constructor, introducing the turbo engine ...
after the Crashgate controversy, the retention of sponsors by
Harlequin F.C. Harlequins (officially Harlequin Football Club) is a professional rugby union club that plays in Premiership Rugby, the top level of English rugby union. Their home ground is the Twickenham Stoop, located in Twickenham, south-west London. Foun ...
after their
Bloodgate Bloodgate was a rugby union scandal involving English team Harlequins in their Heineken Cup quarter-final against Irish side Leinster on 12 April 2009. Harlequins wing Tom Williams feigned an injury using a fake blood capsule in order for Harl ...
fake injury scandal, and the enhanced fortunes of
Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the most ...
in spite of his head-butting of
Marco Materazzi Marco Materazzi (; born 19 August 1973) is an Italian former professional footballer and manager. Early in his career, Materazzi played with various Italian teams in Serie B and Serie C, and with Everton in the Premier League. He spent two per ...
in the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final.
Gillette Gillette is an American brand of safety razors and other personal care products including shaving supplies, owned by the multi-national corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G). Based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, it was owned by The Gil ...
, who Henry represents in advertisements, were threatened with a boycott and an email campaign. A brand spokesman said that it would not affect their relationship with Henry. Susie Mesure of ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' later speculated that there was now a 'Curse of Gillette' befalling its three major sporting representatives, with the Henry controversy being followed in quick succession by
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...
' car accident on 27 November, and a rare defeat of
Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players#Weeks at No. 1, world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, in ...
by
Nikolay Davydenko Nikolay Vladimirovich Davydenko ( rus, Никола́й Влади́мирович Давыде́нко ; born 2 June 1981) is a Ukrainian-born Russian former professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 3 i ...
in the
2009 ATP Tour The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour is the elite professional tennis circuit organised by the ATP. The 2009 ATP World Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments (supervised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF ...
on 28 November. A Gillette spokesperson had earlier denied allegations made by '' The Sun'' that a version of the ''Gillette Champions'' poster showing the three men with a tennis racket, golf club and football, had been doctored to remove a ball from Henry's hand in the French version of their website. American radio host
Jim Rome James Phillip Rome (born October 14, 1964) is an American sports radio host. His talk show, ''The Jim Rome Show'', is syndicated by CBS Sports Radio. Broadcasting from a studio near Los Angeles, California, Rome hosts ''The Jim Rome Show'' on ...
commented: "I'm glad the guy did it; it led to a goal...How 'bout that guy. The guy was just trying to make a play. I thought it was smart; I liked it. It led to a goal; what's not to like?" Speaking on ''
Football Focus ''Football Focus'' is a BBC television magazine programme launched in 1974 covering football, normally broadcast live on BBC One on Saturday lunchtimes during the football season. From the 2009–10 season to the 2020–21 season Football Focus ...
'' on 21 November, Philippe Auclair of ''
France Football ''France Football'' is a French weekly magazine containing football news from all over the world. It is considered to be one of the most reputable sports publications in Europe, mostly because of its photographic reports, in-depth and exclusiv ...
'' magazine said that, unlike
Eric Cantona Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona (; ; born 24 May 1966) is a French actor, director, producer, and former professional footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Cantona is credited as having made Manchester United a d ...
's "moment of madness", he could not see Thierry Henry earning a similar redemption in England for this "calculated moment of cheating".Philippe Auclair (''
France Football ''France Football'' is a French weekly magazine containing football news from all over the world. It is considered to be one of the most reputable sports publications in Europe, mostly because of its photographic reports, in-depth and exclusiv ...
'' magazine),
BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flag ...
''
Football Focus ''Football Focus'' is a BBC television magazine programme launched in 1974 covering football, normally broadcast live on BBC One on Saturday lunchtimes during the football season. From the 2009–10 season to the 2020–21 season Football Focus ...
'', 2009-11-21, "Thierry Henry is going to have to deal with the fact that the country in which he most wanted to be loved, England, has turned against him in a way that is so violent, that you can't imagine a kind of redemption, you know, like you had for Eric Cantona after Selhurst Park, which was a moment of madness, this is not the moment of madness, this is a moment, a calculated moment of cheating."
On 22 November, the ''
Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...
'' claimed that the FFF had been willing to stage a replay and that FIFA would not have prevented it, but the offer had been blocked by the French manager
Raymond Domenech Raymond Manuel Albert Domenech (; born 24 January 1952) is a French football manager and former player. He managed the France national team from 2004 to 2010, reaching the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final. He was dismissed after their elimination from ...
. A ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' editorial supported FIFA's decision not to replay the match and distinguished the refereeing error from the one in the replayed Uzbekistan-Bahrain match.
Henry Winter Henry Winter (born 18 February 1963) is an English sports journalist. He is currently the Chief Football Writer for ''The Times'', and previously a Football Correspondent for ''The Daily Telegraph''. Education Winter was educated at Westmi ...
of ''The Telegraph'' wrote that FIFA had "gained some credibility" by deciding to investigate Henry after the EGM, whose presence at the World Cup would otherwise overshadow the Fair Play campaign, and that the Henry controversy made the case for having a panel of experts examine every major game after the event for infractions missed by the referee. Winter contrasted any possible punishment of Henry with the two-month ban issued to
Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the F ...
for simply 'insulting reporters'. Diana Worman on
Aljazeera.net Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a State media, state-owned Arabic-language International radio broadcasters, international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and o ...
criticised FIFA's decision to investigate Henry for an act that happens all the time, and would have only warranted a yellow card, writing "Henry should never have been expected to make a 'sportsmanlike' decision after the goal and it's unfair for Fifa to make an example of him". ''
The Canadian Press The Canadian Press (CP; french: La Presse canadienne, ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for the time's Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Pre ...
'' criticised FIFA's "cowardly" decision to investigate Henry and do nothing to change the situation for the 2010 World Cup. The ''Irish Times'' stated that the FAI's recommendations to FIFA in the wake of the controversy had been "effectively disregarded" at the EGM. After the announcement that Henry would face no sanctions, Simon Rice of ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' declared Henry had "got away with it", and compared his lack of punishment to nine other notable sporting incidents:
Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...
( 1994 Australian Grand Prix),
Sir Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football managers of all tim ...
(against
The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...
generally),
Graeme Smith Graeme Craig Smith (born 1 February 1981) is a South African cricket commentator and former cricketer who played for South Africa in all formats. In 2003, he was appointed captain of the national team, taking over from Shaun Pollock. He held th ...
( 4th test, South Africa v England, 2010),
Eduardo Eduardo is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the male given name Edward. Another version is Duarte. It may refer to: Association football * Eduardo Bonvallet, Chilean football player and sports commentator * Eduardo Carvalho, Portuguese footba ...
( diving against Celtic, 26 August 2009), Toni Schumacher ( 1982 World Cup semi-final),
Trevor Chappell Trevor Martin Chappell (born 12 October 1952) is a former Australian cricketer, a member of the South Australian Chappell family which excelled at cricket. He played 3 tests and 20 One Day Internationals for Australia. He won the Sheffield Shi ...
( the 1981 Underarm bowling incident),
Andy Haden Andrew Maxwell Haden (26 September 195029 July 2020) was a New Zealand rugby union player and All Black captain. He played at lock for Auckland and New Zealand from 1972 until 1985. He also played club rugby in the United Kingdom and Italy. Li ...
( Wales v New Zealand, 1978),
Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the F ...
(1986
Hand of God goal "The hand of God" ( es, La mano de Dios) was a handling goal scored by Argentine footballer Diego Maradona during the Argentina v England quarter finals match of the 1986 FIFA World Cup. The goal was illegal under association football rules be ...
) and
Fred Lorz Frederick Lorz (June 5, 1884 – February 4, 1914) was an American long distance runner who won the 1905 Boston Marathon. Lorz is also known for his "finish" in the marathon at the 1904 Summer Olympics for not having crossed the "half-way m ...
( 1904 Olympics Men's Marathon). After the announcement,
Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, D.C ...
speculated that any discipliniary action for Henry would have presented an "unwelcome precedent" for FIFA, and any punishment would have been merely symbolic, given the lack of prior cases of such retrospective player sanctions. FIFA's subsequent decision to select referee Hansson as one of the 2010 World Cup officials was criticised by the Irish media, as well as UEFA president
Michel Platini Michel François Platini (born 21 June 1955) is a French football administrator and former player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon d'Or three times in a row, in 1983, 1984 and 1985, ...
's comments that it would have been "great" if France and the Republic of Ireland had been drawn together for the 2012 European Championships.


Other

'A few hundred' Irish fans marched from Lansdowne Road Stadium to the French embassy on Ailesbury Road in
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
, to demand a replay. An online poll run by French newspaper ''
Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...
'' revealed 88% of the 97,000 respondents said "no" to the question "Does France deserve to be in South Africa?". A
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
petition demanding a replay was signed by over 500,000. The French teachers' union SNEP-FSU condemned Henry's irresponsible example of "indisputable cheating". Henry's official
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
page was reportedly suspended due to "strange activity". When the World Cup pool games began Pizza Hut Delivery Ireland began a promotion offering a free pizza to every goal scored against France. The Irish band, The Mighty Stef, wrote ''Protest Song with No Name'', which ends with the lyrics "you might cheat us, you might beat us, but you'll never lay a hand on our soul". The Corrigan Brothers wrote ''The Hand of Henry'', which includes the line "Sepp Blatter was happy". French company
Le Coq Sportif Le Coq Sportif (, "the athletic rooster") is a French manufacturing company of sports equipment. Founded in 1882 by Émile Camuset and located in Entzheim, the company first issued items branded with its now-famous rooster trademark in 1948. The ...
were parodied over the incident, with an agency printing T-shirts with the words Le Coq un-Sportif. Irish bookmakers
Paddy Power Paddy Power is an Irish gambling company founded in 1988. Its product offering includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. The business is split into two divisions, UK Ireland (UKI) and International. UKI operations ...
launched a two-week advertising campaign in the
baggage claim 200px, Baggage carousel In airport terminals, a baggage reclaim area is an area where arriving passengers claim checked-in baggage after disembarking from an airline flight. The alternative term baggage claim is used at airports in the US and ...
area of
Dublin Airport Dublin Airport (Irish language, Irish: ''Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath'') is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by DAA (Irish company), DAA (formerly Dublin Airport Authority). The airport is located in Collinsto ...
poking fun at Henry, with posters stating "Paddy Power welcomes you to Ireland... unless you're called Thierry". Cleaners in Ireland also reportedly vandalised the unrelated ''Henry'' brand of
vacuum cleaner A vacuum cleaner, also known simply as a vacuum or a hoover, is a device that causes suction in order to remove dirt from floors, upholstery, draperies, and other surfaces. It is generally electrically driven. The dirt is collected by either a ...
. Irish rockstar
Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...
called on FIFA to do the noble thing, not act bureaucratically, and grant Ireland's request to be added to the World Cup as a 33rd entrant. French philosopher
Alain Finkielkraut Alain Finkielkraut (, ; ; born 30 June 1949) is a French philosopher and public intellectual. He has written books and essays on a wide range of topics, many on the ideas of tradition and identitary nonviolence, including Jewish identity and ant ...
said on
Europe 1 Europe 1, formerly known as Europe n° 1, is a privately owned radio station created in 1955. Owned and operated by Lagardère Active, a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group, it is one of the leading radio broadcasting stations in France and its pro ...
radio that "We are faced with a real matter of conscience...We certainly have nothing to be proud of." British author
Roger Scruton Sir Roger Vernon Scruton (; 27 February 194412 January 2020) was an English philosopher and writer who specialised in aesthetics and political philosophy, particularly in the furtherance of traditionalist conservative views. Editor from 1982 ...
said "one of the major justifications of sport in all its forms is that it teaches the virtues of fair play...Victory achieved by cheating leaves a foul taste in the mouth...and makes the whole thing as pointless to
he defeated team and its supporters He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
as it is to someone like me who has never quite experienced the allure of the game". The founder of the British Philosophy of Sport Association called for "restorative justice", and said that players had an obligation to honesty that "over-rides their self-serving commitments". French economist
Jacques Attali Jacques José Mardoché Attali (; born 1 November 1943) is a French economic and social theorist, writer, political adviser and senior civil servant, who served as a counselor to President François Mitterrand from 1981 to 1991, and was the firs ...
wrote "Nous sommes tous Irlandais", in reference to the ''Le Monde'' headline "Nous sommes tous Americains" (We are all Americans) in the aftermath of the 11 September attacks. Bookmakers William Hill stated they would refund any bets placed backing Ireland to qualify, to be "as fair as possible to everyone." Thierry Henry was "booed relentlessly" by fans of
Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...
in his first competitive match after playing Ireland. On 4 December 2009, Charlize Theron co-presented the draw for the
2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
in
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
, South Africa, accompanied by several other celebrities of South African origin. During rehearsals she drew an
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
ball instead of
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
as a joke at the expense of FIFA, referring to the
Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best player ...
handball controversy and France's controversial qualification. The stunt alarmed FIFA enough for it to fear she might do it again in front of a live global audience. Irish fans donned
sombrero A sombrero (Spanish , ) is a type of wide-brimmed Mexican men's hat used to shield the face and eyes from the sun. It usually has a high pointed crown, an extra-wide brim (broad enough to cast a shadow over the head, neck and shoulders of the w ...
s and cheered as
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
beat France 2–0 in their second group stage match on 17 June 2010. France was subsequently eliminated from the World Cup following a 2–1 loss to host nation
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
in their final group stage match, and finished at the bottom of
Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles w ...
. During the World Cup, English comedian James Corden refused to acknowledge France on his "human wallchart" during his post-World Cup match TV show ''
James Corden's World Cup Live ''James Corden's World Cup Live'' is a comedy chat show hosted by comedian James Corden during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The show was broadcast after every ITV evening match with Abbey Clancy, celebrity guests, a football hero, a studio full of fa ...
'', replacing France with Ireland, and when chatting with the Irish member of the wallchart, referred to players such as "Terry Henry" and "Paddy Evra", Irish variants of the names of France players Theirry Henry and
Patrice Evra Patrice Latyr Evra (; born 15 May 1981) is a French football coach and former professional player. Originally a forward, he primarily played as a left-back. Evra served as captain for both Manchester United and the France national team. His ...
. The Irish playwright and novelist
Dermot Bolger Dermot Bolger (born 1959) is an Irish novelist, playwright, poet and editor from Dublin, Ireland. Born in the Finglas suburb of Dublin in 1959, his older sister is the writer June Considine. Bolger's novels include ''Night Shift'' (1982), ''Th ...
's stage play, ''The Parting Glass'', is based around this game in Paris, with most of the second half of the play occurring during the actual match in the Stade de France, as an Irish father and son watch their final Ireland game together before the son emigrates to find work in Canada.


Comparison to other events

The 2010 Leinster Senior Football Championship Final between
Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia **Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...
and Meath held at Croke Park on 11 July 2010 drew comparisons with Thierry Henry's cheating due to its controversial ending in which Louth were wrongfully defeated by a last minute Meath goal which was thrown into the net and therefore should not have stood. Louth were in the lead at the time and would have won their first Leinster Senior Football Championship in 53 years if Meath had not been given the goal. Louth fans burst onto the pitch as the final whistle blew, chasing and physically assaulting the referee around the field, while a steward was knocked unconscious with a bottle during ugly scenes played out on live television. The referee was struck on at least three different points as he scrambled away from the baying mob. Meath chairman Barney Allen compared calls for the game to be replayed with Henry's moment of shame, saying "Ireland didn't get a replay when France got a lucky goal". As the controversy continued to erupt, RTÉ analyst
Pat Spillane Patrick Gerard Spillane (born 1 December 1955), better known as Pat Spillane, is an Irish former Gaelic football pundit and player. His National Football League (Ireland), league and All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, championship career ...
called it a "disgrace".
Setanta Sports Setanta Sports is a sports television company based in Dublin, Ireland broadcasting throughout select Eurasian. The company was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events to international audiences. The company previo ...
said the "goal" would "now go down in infamy as the GAA's Thierry Henry incident". During the 2010 World Cup, in extra time of a quarter-final match against Ghana, Uruguayan striker
Luis Suárez Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Uruguayan Primera División club Nacional and the Uruguay national team. Nicknamed ''El Pistolero'' ('The Gunman'), he is ...
handled the ball in the penalty area to prevent a last-minute game-winning Ghana goal. The act drew comparaisons with Thierry Henry's handball


TV

In 2011, "L'Affair Henry the, ahem, touchiest sporting controversy in living memory" received its own episode of '' Scannal'', the TV series dedicated to scandalous events. The ''
Evening Herald ''The Herald'' is a nationwide mid-market tabloid newspaper headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and published by Independent News & Media who are a subsidiary of Mediahuis. It is published Monday–Saturday. The newspaper was known as the ''Ev ...
'' reviewer called it an "entertaining, tightly-packaged edition" of the show but also opined, "Where ''Scannal'' stumbled, however, was in its failure to go in with both feet on the cringe-inducing elephant in the room: John Delaney's embarrassing plea to Fifa boss, the odious Sepp Blatter, to let Ireland be "the 33rd team" at the World Cup". Early June 2010, Swedish film director Mattias Löw released the documentary film The Referee, produced for SVT -
Sveriges Television Sveriges Television AB ("Sweden's Television Stock Company"), shortened to SVT (), is the Sweden, Swedish national public broadcasting, public television broadcaster, funded by a public service tax on personal income set by the Riksdag (national ...
, where he follows the referee, Martin Hansson, of the infamous playoff match in Paris, for a year leading up to
FIFA World Cup 2010 , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
. The film portrays the
Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, and former player who is an assistant coach for the Belgium national team. Considered one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best player ...
handball incident in Paris in detail from the referee's point of view.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ireland v France football matches 2009 controversies 2009 in Republic of Ireland association football 2009–10 in French football 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) FIFA World Cup qualification matches FIFA World Cup controversies
2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
Republic of Ireland national football team matches France–Ireland relations France at the 2010 FIFA World Cup 2009 in Paris November 2009 sports events in Europe
Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
2000s in Dublin (city) International association football competitions hosted by Paris