What should FIFA do about the Thierry Henry handball situation?

There is no question it was an intentional handball. The ball was clearly heading out of bounds which would have resulted in an Irish goal kick. Instead, Henry used his hand to stop the ball and control it into play. It is disturbing that Henry would stoop to these tactics. I can't help but feel that if the situation were reversed, FIFA would not allow France to miss the 2010 World Cup due to this kind of obvious cheating.

It is a sad day for Football. The most overrated player of all time cheated with an admitted handball. Henry admitted the handballs were intentional in an interview. This puts him right up there with Maradonna and the Diving Diver of them all Ronaldo. I wish Fifa would review the play and Ban France deservedly so. But we all know why Portugal, France are really through - it is all about money. We know Blatter is a crook and only wants to countires that can bring star power and cash to the big investors. It is a very sad day in Football and shame on you Mr. Henry, I used to admire you at Aresnal, but knew you were overrated. Shame on France, shame on Fifa and a sad day for Ireland. A Ajax Fan!

It is disappointing to see all the grudge against Thierry Henry. He has done so much good for football, not just through his skills, success, honors and titles but other means such as the "say no to racism" campaign, the anti-racist "Stand Up Speak Up" campaign, all he's done for UNICEF, and the fact that he even is one of the most keen supporters of "Joga Bonito" - play beautifully. The fact that he admitted he was wrong shows he is a really good guy. It's not his or France's fault that the referee allowed the goal to stand.

i don't know why the irish all blame henry for not qualifying. if they had used one of there plenty chances they could just give a damn about henry and hisball. let's say the goal wouln't count who's to say wouln't have scored anyway or won on penalties. so stop feeling sorry for the irish they only scored one goal in 180 minutes. and soccer is about results and not who plays better.

ok well it definitely looks like a hand ball but he wasnt like his hand had reached out to hit the ball he was there before the ball had even gone his way, plus whats up with all the sudden henry's name goes to hell so many differant players who are also world class do this stuff all the time everyone cheats the ref more then once in there career , so the Irish are out sorry to say maby the should have finished the game off before it even got to this point , cant alway's count on the ref's to save your ass stuff happens i think the ball hit his hand more then he hit the ball , but the game has to stand and if they do ban henry from the world cup then a lot of people wont watch and it would be unfair to him cuz he isnt the only person to hand ball it like that in qualifying or in the world cup it self, well irish try harder next time arounf

I couldn't agree more with Edwin-except for one omission...where is the responsibility of the referees and side judges? They should be reprimanded and potentially fired. Furthermore, sometimes results are achieved or taken away by poor officiating and at this level there should be a zero tolerance for missed calls and the findings should be reviewed and play resumed in another rematch, exactly where the foul occurred, with the time and respective goals that were made. In this case it would be 1-0 Ireland and there would be 108 minutes having gone by or whatever it was. That really is the kind of accountability were talking about and if you want to talk about results you must include accountability by the officials. You go commit your life to play this game and obtain this high level of play to have some official take away your dreams of making the world cup...There is no reason that anyone can come up with that will justify what happened today. Ireland keep your heads high, your the real winners. In the final analysis that is what counts! Not results that are won from some referees overt or ignorant mistake, let alone FIFA's lack of interest in the matter at all.

There was a lot of mistakes the ref and the linesman didn't see. When the free kick was taken two men were offside. As for Henry's handball, fair enough he hit it once by accident but the 2nd time it was clearly to keep the ball in play as he pushed it towards himself. To say the Irish were robbed is a bit of an exaggeration. If they had gone on to penalties there is no guarentee the Irish would've won, but they deserved the opportunity to try. If they had lost then, France would have deserved their victory and their wouldn't be ill-feeling. This whole situation just shows its time to bring in the TV ref. Nearly every other sport does it, who cares if it takes up more time or discredits the ref's decision, the refs should be able to admit when they're wrong. Anyways I feel sorry for the Irish players cause they played a very good game but it was not to be. As for the French, they were diving and looking for penalities all over the place...

Drew - I cannot understand your opinion re whether it was intentional. OOps I stopped it going out of play. OOps I controlled it. A most fortunate pair of accidental handballs. Anyway I am sure Michel Platini is delighted.

In response to Mike and his obvious prejudice against the Irish, I don't think the Irish do blame Henry for not qualifying. It is merely a fact of cheating and that is exactly what Henry did. Yes, if you look at the game statistics France had more possession and when it comes to technical play they are a better team. However, who is to say what would have happened had the handball not taken place? Yes perhaps France would have gone on to score fairly but who's to say Ireland might not have done it instead? (Let's not forget that up until that point BOTH teams had only scored one goal thank you very much). The sad thing is we will never know, and that is what I feel sorry about.

the Irish were robbed of going to the world cup it definitely was a handball with Thierry Henry,, he did admitt it. why dont they have two ref at the goals to be the judges, if they had two ref there at the time, it would have not being a goal

Of course it was deliberate! its an absolute disgrace that it 'wasn't seen'! there should be a re-match because that is the fairest thing to do.. henry has admitted to the handball, even if it was an accident (which it wasn't) its still a handball as the replay shows.. the ref should also be disaplined about it, he definatly didn't do his job properly.. its an absolute farce.

hey, while i was reading all these comments some said ireland got robbed other its not henry to be blame, the fact is that this is football, helloo, shits happens and u got to deal with them. referee made mistakes and this is not the first game to be manipulated in a way or another by the judjment of the referee. so bad lock for the irish but they should blame themslef they had the chance to put the game to bed many times but they didn't and fate always find his way to punish all the missing chances. its that simple play good and get the result and dont let victory for chances or misjudjment of a referee and u wont feel sorry about it. what i saw was a great game both team played to the max, they both deserve to win, france did, so congrats. Henry is a great player and sometimes ur love for ur countries push u to the limit of cheating if u wanna put in that case but i dont think henry cheated he juts wanted to win at any price and its not something to be ashamed of.

henry will die as will the arrogant frog eating snail slurping nation of france...FIFA is a joke the irish are a nation of patriotic people and we shouldn't be thrown out of the best football competition in the world because of some cheating cunt!!!! DEATH TO HENRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

henry will die as will the arrogant frog eating snail slurping nation of france...FIFA is a joke the irish are a nation of patriotic people and we shouldn't be thrown out of the best football competition in the world because of some cheating cunt!!!! DEATH TO HENRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Your headline - Did Thierry Henry (handball) cheat France into the World Cup? Are you blind - not once but twice the french p***k handed it - I am discusted today with Fifa - not one word about handball in the match report.

Well done france! thats all av got to say hahaha

Stephen - you are a grade A twat, that's all I have to say

i totally agree with samo, drew and andrew... I feel sorry for the Ireland team, they lost on saturday, France was way better, but yesterday, Ireland could have won, and i understand how gutting it is. They have played very well. But let's face it. We all know football, it's not the first time this happens... It's the biggest sport in the world, what do you expect? i don't understand why people are going mad, we're all aware about the fact that football is not fair play. If you want to support a fair play sport, don't support football, support and watch poker. Don't blame Henry for not telling the referee, because a 100 players out of a 100 would have done the same thing especially for the qualifiers of a competition such as the world cup. Remember in 2006, when Italy absolutely robbed France. Materazzi didn't go to the ref and went: allright mate, i insulted zidane, don't give him a red card. That's just the way it is really, so i don't see why France would be all nice to other teams when they got screwed about in the past, and i don't see why would other teams either. It's sad but it's football. The referees weren't great, Anelka did fall in the box, no penalty was given. it was a bad day, bad decisions. But the luck was on the French team even if they didn't deserve to score that goal. Now i've got to admit that France need to play better and get some players sorted out because they're not gonna be lucky like they were yesterday. i respect the Ireland team, they're great guys but so is Henry, he wants his team to go through, like any other players would, Keane would have done the same thing.

Don't blame Henry for not telling the referee (Ben) But he did tell the ref, if you were looking at the News, you would see all that

and yes i am from Ireland

i mean during the game :) Henry did the right thing, if the referee would have seen it, Henry wouldn't have said wait i didn't touch it with my hand... cause he knows he did. Ireland, Japan, China, Kazakhstan, Iran, Brazil, England, Italy, Portugal, Bosnia would have done the same thing. So please don't blame Henry, write the referee or fifa a letter

well i will blame him and he did tell the ref during the game

fair enough

watch this, this explains it all Safe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSsRZaqQ4wU

I think those calling for France to be disqualified and Ireland to take their place are being pretty ridiculous... at the very most France deserve a chance as much as Ireland do if there is any sort of reviewal of the match, which there won't be.

Hand ball? not hand ball? Guys football is a human sport... mistakes are to be made... by the players or referees. Also what is up with punishing France or Henry??? If the handball was proprely seen this shouldn't of happened. The rules of the game would apply and it would of been an unaccepted goal. That is it... But "Disqualify France from the World Cup and replace them with Ireland 28% (1,201 votes)" Come on! ... you must be kidding me... that makes me sick.

When it comes to blame teh ref makes the calls. Henry clearly cheated and he knew it. It was very unsporting and he should get some sort of punishment. The ref and his assistants are to blame. They "missed" the call (really they were told from up above to do whatever it tales to let france win). I can only hope Ireland can overcome this injustice. It's a shame because for the backnone of the squad this may have been there best and last chance. You could see that from the reaction of Given and Duff.

Game shud be playd 4rm that ball in .....give ireland a better chance they shud of won ...bt henry cheated

If it were the other way around, we would be all watching the replay right about now.

FACT: 2 French players offside FACT: Thierry Henry double handball FACT: Goal scored Goal should have been disallowed. Game needs to be replayed at a neutral ground.

its a pity ireland should been gone through france should have stayed home and video referee should be intoduced.

Thierry Henry played football all the way through as he should. The referee did not call the play, the result was a goal. If Ireland wanted to qualify, they should have won in Ireland. I refereed for three years and what one judges is the flow of the game and when I didn't see a play I didn't call it. His arm was not out which would have been flagrant and visible. Do not judge the man for playing all out and for wanting to play in one more World Cup. He is my hero for taking France to the South. To do what ever to win, this is not church.

All this conspiracy talk is so foolish... If the ref had been told to "let France win" then France would DEFINITELY have gotten a penalty shot when Anelka went down. And disqualify France? Hah! Are we going to go back and review every other game too for missed calls and start changing the results of games ex post facto? Because I can promise you, if you had enough time, you could go back and find a reason to change the result of every game that ever ended level or by one point. It was a poor call, and certainly not the best decision by Henry. But if you watch the video in real time, look at how much time he had to react. The ONLY way he could have controlled the ball was with his hand... and so instinctively he did. You think that he had time to weigh the consequences of his actions? That he had time to "decide" to cheat? Please. Every footballer on the planet would have done the same thing. You don't win games by giving up on balls in the box... you play them, and if you get called, so be it. And if you don't, you go to the World Cup. Let's just hope Henry has the good sense to hire some SERIOUS security. Preferably some big British thugs that are used to getting in fights with the Irish... because its been a long time since the Irish had such a great reason to start fighting (not that they need one).

I don't really understand what the big deal is about the hand ball. It's no worse than any other foul in any other match that gets missed by the ref. Maybe it had a bigger impact on the result of the game than other missed calls, but it wasn't a "disgrace" and I really don't think it was cheating. If cheating implies doing something that you're not supposed to do in a game, then anyone that's ever made a poor tackle, shoved someone on the way by, elbowed someone, pulled on their jersey, etc, they've "cheated"? Very few would have said, "Oops, don't count that goal, I touched it with my hand" just as very few would have said "Don't count that goal, i think I might have pushed the defender on my way by". The point is, football is, and always has been, a game where the ref misses calls. It's fast paced, a long field and S*** happens. Score enough goals that it doesn't matter and get over it. And just for the record, I'm not a France fan.

I think the ref should be to blame for this mess.He was too far away from the action to see the incedent.Thierry Henry saw an opportunity and instinctively took.What ever happens iam sure that split second decision will haunt him for the rest of his life.Will he turn to drugs like Maradona after 86?We are yet to see.

"Preferably some big British thugs that are used to getting in fights with the Irish... because its been a long time since the Irish had such a great reason to start fighting (not that they need one)." How rude and ignorant of you Jeremie. Irish people are not going against the french, or threatening the life of Henry [em except that Andrew person it seems....!] because of this episode, so please do not insult the Irish population thank you. Thierry Henry said he doesnt care either way [cheat ot not], pretty much, and is just happy france are through - that is why people have no time for him. The irish team are about fair play, unlike the french, and i just hope they can sleep at night. If they do go far in the world cup [which they won't as they are not an amazing team], any victory from now on will be very tainted.

Henry was disgusting. How possible he even made a celebration while running. Blatter and Platini has looked so fair and so reactive to unfair play recently, but now they may transform themselves into unfair persons who love unfair play.

What Thierry Henry played was not soccer but basketball. FIFA should give him a red card and justify the rematch between Ireland and France for the ticket to South Africa. I was previously a France soccer loyal fan, but no longer from now on. I am still considering to choose another country to replace le bleus.

It seems the linesmen would've caught it. In some videos he clearly has a direct line of sight. Besides, he should be able to review the play after the immediate chaos that ensued the game. All the irish players in the box immediately stopped and raised their hands. Something's fishy to me. On the other hand, video replay will remove this unique feature of the game as it stands; the agony/excitement of knowing the ref can cheat you, other players can cheat/play-act, without a recourse afterward. This is a part of the game that most of us really enjoy. That little bit of controversy. That we know full well the ref must've been paid off or leaned toward one team. Isn't it exciting. Also, can they really replay the game? How many games from the past could've been replayed? Spain and italy were robbed by korea and japan. Did you see those games?

This is an statment from FIFA FIFA statement on FAI request FIFA has today, 20 November 2009, replied to the request made by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) to replay the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ play-off match held on 18 November 2009 between France and the Republic of Ireland in Paris. In the reply, FIFA states that 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. ( WELL THATS IT) I guest 3,052 votes dont count.

Yep, FIFA want the French tv audience, but don't discount the Irish just yet! We've had 800 years of practice fighting a greater power than ourselves in the little matter of the British invaders, pffft, FIFA don't stand a chance! C'mon Ireland, C'mon Fair Play!

Thierry Henry should know better. He played on Juventus, Arsenal and is currently on Barcelona. Even though he addmitted it, they should have either replayed the game or took France out of the World Cup an put Ireland in. The refs didn't even call that. That's crap. Come on, Thierry. You ruined the World Cup. Very sad but worse things have happened and will happen again. Nobody, unless you’re French, will be happy this has happened in such a way. Seems unbelieveale that none of the officials saw it. The seeded draw conspiracy theory…well…I think you may have a point! (I'm still a big fan, tho =)