World Cup - Hand of Henry denies Ireland

Eurosport - Wed, 18 Nov 21:15:00 2009

Republic of Ireland were kept out of the 2010 World Cup as Thierry Henry's handball helped France to a 2-1 aggregate win.

Henry handball - 0

Ireland made the trip to Paris trailing 1-0 from the first leg, but they dominated the game and Robbie Keane's goal on 33 minutes took the match to extra-time.

There was nothing between the two sides, but Henry blotted his copybook with a blatant handball that allowed him to set up William Gallas's pivotal goal.

Ireland had nothing to give in the final 15 minutes, having run themselves into the ground to force extra-time, and France progressed with more than a slice of fortune.

Giovanni Trapattoni said there was no need for his players to fear playing in Paris and they clearly heeded his words as Ireland took the game to France from the outset.

France were dealt an early setback as Julien Escude was forced off on nine minutes with a head injury, but his departure mattered little as Ireland dominated the ball.

With Keane running the line tirelessly, ably supported by Kevin Doyle, Liam Lawrence and Damien Duff, France were given no time to set the tempo.

Chances were at a premium but Doyle should really have put his side ahead on 26 minutes. A fantastic cross from Lawrence allowed Doyle to get the jump on Gallas but with the goal gaping from six yards, he glanced the effort wide.

Ireland continued to press and were rewarded on 32 minutes with a goal of real quality. Duff exchanged passes with Kevin 'Zinedine' Kilbane and raced into the box. The Fulham man got his head up at the byline and picked out Keane in acres of space and he made no mistake, tucking the ball home from 10 yards.

Shay Given was a virtual spectator in the opening 45 minutes, as France in general and Andre-Pierre Gignac in particular, were poor going forward.

Any thoughts of a France onslaught after the break were snuffed out minutes into the second half as John O'Shea passed up a golden opening to double Ireland's advantage.

The Manchester United defender found acres of space at the back post from a Lawrence free kick and took the ball down superbly, only to lash his shot high over the top from eight yards.

Ireland continued to fashion the better chances and they should have taken control of the tie on the hour.

Lassana Diarra was caught in possession and Ireland released Duff. He got away from his marker and had only the keeper to beat but shot weakly at Hugo Lloris.

Given made just one save in the second half as Ireland fashioned the greater chances and Keane passed up a fantastic opening 17 minutes from time. A deft pass from Lawrence played in the Tottenham man, who eased round the keeper but the ball ran away and over the line with the goal gaping.

The steam appeared to go out of Ireland's play in the final ten minutes and France upped their game heading into extra-time.

On 98 minutes Nicolas Anelka raced into the box and went round Given, only to tumble to the floor. The Irish keeper waved his arms in protest and referee Martin Hansson awarded the goal kick.

Replays proved the referee correct, but he turned from hero to villain in Irish eyes six minutes later as France levelled on the night and edged ahead on aggregate.

A deep free-kick looked to be heading out for a goal kick but Henry stuck out a hand to keep it in and then flicked it with his hand a second time to gain control. The Barcelona man turned the ball across goal for Gallas to bundle home.

The Irish were incensed, led by Given, but Hansson awarded the goal. The Swede had a great game for 103 minutes, but will be left to reflect on his decision which robbed Ireland of a chance to claim a place at the World Cup finals as France held on for a 2-1 aggregate success.

Eurosport

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  1. I overheard some New Age Atheists at a Cafe in Dublin­ referring to the incident as "The Hand Of­ DOG"

    From PaddyAngel, on Tue 15 Dec 10:52PM

  2. something funny for irish....ireland cheated against­ gorgia (big cheat penalty!!video on oyutube,very­ funny!) to qualify against france. what about replay­ this game first?

    From merguez party, on Fri 20 Nov 11:32AM

  3. Ireland wer all over france from the first second,­ france dont deserve to go anywer, the only way they got­ through was by cheaten, Henry is a thief, i hope it­ really scratches his reputation. Nt jus henrys hand­ ball but the lines man should ave seen that 2 french­ players wer offside to start wif. Not a fair game. WE­ DESERVE A REMATCH!!!!!!!!!!!!

    From brown83, on Fri 20 Nov 10:03AM

  4. Who say history can't repeat itself twice? Maradona­ hand of God and T.H hand of assissant.Well the Irish­ should take heart, better luck next time. WAOH! is far­ 2014, please FIFA work towards poor officiating of the­ refree's,it cause countries and players great pain.

    From Adebola, on Fri 20 Nov 8:52AM

  5. you british guys are all really funny, owen dived,­ roony dives, every single english player that plays the­ game today is guilty of some form of­ "cheating" or the other,but theyre called­ different names other than that,cos youre on the­ receiving end of the boot!!
    dont be sore!!
    at the end­ of the day,even if a replay were given,IRELAND STILL­ DONT HAVE A CHANCE!!!
    the return leg at france was just­ a one off thing that can never happen again, the irish­ squad isnt even strong enough to defeat the Nigerian­ National team.
    come back in 4 years ok

    From Ld f baby, on Fri 20 Nov 8:01AM

  6. let me tell you what will happen !! nothing will happen­ if it was the irish cheating the french out of a place­ at the world cup the french at the helm of FIFA would­ be acting now

    From richard m, on Fri 20 Nov 6:35AM

  7. Will go: D. Drogba, D.Zakora, L. Donovan, C. Dempsey,­­ W.­ Palacios, K. Honda, J. Inamoto, B. Mc Carthy,­ J.­­­ Pienaar, D. Forlan, C. Rodriguez, A. Frei, F.­­­ Senderos,­ J. Terry, S. Gerrard, W. Rooney, Podolski,­­­ Klose, Gomez, D.­ Villa, F. Torres, C. Fabregas,­­ Iniesta, X.­ Alonso, L. Messi, Di­ Maria, Higuain,­­­ Stankovic, Vidic, Pantelic, Gelardino,­ De Rossi,­­­ Caramonesi, M. Fernandez, H. Suarez, N.­ Valdez, el­ grande OSCAR CARDOSO, Carlos Vela, R. Marquez,­­ Tomasson,­­ Bentner, C. Ronaldo, R. Carvalho, Pepe,­­ Bosingwa, Van­ Persie,­ Sneijder, K. Huntelaar, N.­­ Taider, O. Darraui,­ Yahia,­ S. Eto`o, Song, N.N.­­ Koulou, Novakovic, Koren, Dedic, K.­ Toure, S. Kalou,­­ ­ Katsouranis, Karagounis,­ J.­ S. Park, F. Kanoute,­ A.­ Keita, J. Yobo and J.­ Mikel...*Hope Ireland can­ still­ qualify so that we can­ also admire the likes of­ R.­ Keane, K. Kilbane and S.­ Given...O.K. Amigos???

    From VICTOR V, on Fri 20 Nov 5:42AM

  8. Maradona's hand of God, Henry's hand­ assist,Keane's handball, diving.kicking a player­ and faking injury, kicking the ball out of play and­ rushing to take the cornerkick,deliberate and malicious­ elbowing... All players are guilty of at least one of­ these or similar acts at one time or another There is­ no foul or cheating in football except the­ referee's whistle says so. Any act on the pitch­ that escapes the attention of the referee and his two­ assistants remains an advantage. The rules even give­ the referee the discretion to allow play to continue on­ the basis of an advantage when there is a clear foul.I­ sympathise with Ireland but such is football

    From CHUKWUKA, on Fri 20 Nov 4:44AM

  9. Keane denied Georgia its victory then
    check Ireland Vs­ Georgia WC2010 qualifier

    From pissoffcake, on Fri 20 Nov 12:00AM

  10. Keane denied Georgia its victory then
    check Ireland Vs­ Georgia WC2010 qualifier

    From pissoffcake, on Fri 20 Nov 12:00AM

  11. I think this matter should now die. Henry did what any­ footballer would do and Robbie Keane did in this same­ match. If the referee had not caught him and he scored­ wold Ireland be appealing for a replay? Never. Gerrard,­ Rooney, Owen had all done for England, Liverpool or­ ManU and won things and no one has ever asked for a­ replay. When it goes against us we look for villains.­ Ireland had an opportunity to win at home and they­ threw it away so why blame Henry. They needed to score­ at home and the goal in paris would have killed the­ game but they were not good enough.

    From Pastor kay_crm, on Thu 19 Nov 11:24PM

  12. one step away from colonisation...hope you can tell all­ the irish to keep there players in ireland,and also­ stop supporting english teams just because all you have­ is
    two-bob teams...

    From waltjabasco, on Thu 19 Nov 10:57PM

  13. Well, wel well. I am not surprised with a such­ FIFA's behaviors towards the so called small­ football countries. Lets talk about money and­ matche's entrances...France or North I? Let's­ nob be stupid.

    From Miguel Angelo, on Thu 19 Nov 10:53PM

  14. After the way england got cheated by the argies 3­ times,it's not so funny now the boot
    is on the­ other foot,and at least he did'nt say it was the­ hand of god....

    From BLIND BEGGER, on Thu 19 Nov 10:48PM

  15. "Gibson from Derry"
    thats in Northern ­ Ireland, not the Republic of Ireland. Thats like Frank ­ Lampard playing for Scotland!

    Good Friday agreement.­ anybody from the Ireland of Ireland can claim Irish­ citizenship.
    One more step further away from the­ colonisation of our country by yours....

    From dubjackeen, on Thu 19 Nov 10:45PM

  16. "Gibson from Derry"
    thats in Northern ­ Ireland, not the Republic of Ireland. Thats like Frank ­ Lampard playing for Scotland!

    Good Friday agreement.­ anybody from the Ireland of Ireland can claim Irish­ citizenship.
    One more step further away from the­ colonisation of our country by yours....

    From dubjackeen, on Thu 19 Nov 10:45PM

  17. ` Why shout for a Replay ( Ireland v France ) , as­ the game was heading for a penalty shoot out, lets­ have a penalty shoot out !!! if FIFA wont agree to one­ , France should do the decent thing and refuse to go to­ S.A.
    john

    From john, on Thu 19 Nov 10:23PM

  18. Fifa definetly have to agree to a rematch! their logo­ is Fair Play and Henry DID NOT play fairly AT ALL!!!!

    From Tate!, on Thu 19 Nov 10:22PM

  19. "Gibson from Derry"

    thats in Northern­ Ireland, not the Republic of Ireland. Thats like Frank­ Lampard playing for Scotland!

    From greenaway39, on Thu 19 Nov 10:10PM

  20. #1147..That question makes sence,if keane had done the­ same and got through at the expence of the french would­ ireland be coming forth to offer a re-match???

    From waltjabasco, on Thu 19 Nov 10:09PM
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