Great goal by France against Ireland

[Renegade]

He just wants some attention.

[BA]

He just wants some attention.

Yeah kind of gathered that, he succeeded as well so he's done well.

[culduthel]

Do I detect a hint of Old Firm intolerance in Culduthels original post? Didnt see him coming on here gloating about N Ireland or Wales failure to qualify!

No, nothing like that. I can rest assure you I am a long way away from OF type intolerance.

My post was just pure Schadenfreude on my part I'm afraid. Not pretty I know but there it is. Tried to salt it with a bit irony to help it go down easier. Some have noticed the salt - others have not.

The Hand of Henry type of event occurs countless times every week in football. I just could not help seeing the funny side to it all.

[caleykid1994]

Just heard on the radio that the Irish are going to appeal to UEFA on this issue, cant see them getting anywhere though!

The pundits commentating last night were going nuts, saying Henry should have chased the ref and owned up to the foul! ha ha as if, i cannot remember ever a player owning up to a hand ball.

He got his team to the world cup, and they got there really because of crap officials.

You mean FIFA as it was the FIFA World Cup Qualifying?

Yep im hearing that if Mr Micheal(frances favourite son) Platini DOESNT order a replay in a neutral venue, he will be voted out at the next FIFA presidency election(or maybe before then)

[+DoofersDad]

The Hand of Henry type of event occurs countless times every week in football. I just could not help seeing the funny side to it all.

There's nothing funny about it. Regardless of who you might have preferred to win, and whether or not it was deliberate, the fact is it was an obvious handball and the goal should not have stood. Indeed, had the referee or assistant done their job, France would have been down to 10 men. Of course, there was no guarantee that the result would have been different at the end but my money would have been on the Irish.

For the Irish players and their supporters this is heartbreaking. They were unbeaten through a tough qualifying group and were then the victims of a rule change which led to seeding in the play-offs where they were unlucky to be drawn against the best side. Having overcome all of that to outplay the French in Paris, only to then be victims of one of the worst refereeing decisions for years is not funny.

These lads have given their all to try to get to the World Cup finals - a tournament which is the pinacle of any player's career - and for most, if not all of them there will never be a chance to come so close again. To have it snatched from their grasp in such a cruel way is anything but funny.

Anyone with a shread of decency in them will be feeling heartfelt sorry for them and will not be laughing.

[HumbersideDude]

Just heard on the radio that the Irish are going to appeal to UEFA on this issue, cant see them getting anywhere though!

The pundits commentating last night were going nuts, saying Henry should have chased the ref and owned up to the foul! ha ha as if, i cannot remember ever a player owning up to a hand ball.

He got his team to the world cup, and they got there really because of crap officials.

You mean FIFA as it was the FIFA World Cup Qualifying?

Yep im hearing that if Mr Micheal(frances favourite son) Platini DOESNT order a replay in a neutral venue, he will be voted out at the next FIFA presidency election(or maybe before then)

If there was to be a replayed game(which there won't), it wouldn't be at a neutral venue . It would still be the 2nd leg of the play-off, and played in France.

As for Platini for a publicity mad guy who usually has plenty to say on everything, haven't heard a peep from him so far :)

[Yngwie]

I was hearing that the Irish have found a precedent in that Uzbekistan v Bahrain was ordered to be replayed a few years ago, but I've no idea what happened there.

If a missed handball were sufficient to require a replay, ICT would have Butcher buggering off over to Mexico for a rematch with Maradona.

[culduthel]

The Hand of Henry type of event occurs countless times every week in football. I just could not help seeing the funny side to it all.

There's nothing funny about it. Regardless of who you might have preferred to win, and whether or not it was deliberate, the fact is it was an obvious handball and the goal should not have stood. Indeed, had the referee or assistant done their job, France would have been down to 10 men. Of course, there was no guarantee that the result would have been different at the end but my money would have been on the Irish.

For the Irish players and their supporters this is heartbreaking. They were unbeaten through a tough qualifying group and were then the victims of a rule change which led to seeding in the play-offs where they were unlucky to be drawn against the best side. Having overcome all of that to outplay the French in Paris, only to then be victims of one of the worst refereeing decisions for years is not funny.

These lads have given their all to try to get to the World Cup finals - a tournament which is the pinacle of any player's career - and for most, if not all of them there will never be a chance to come so close again. To have it snatched from their grasp in such a cruel way is anything but funny.

Anyone with a shread of decency in them will be feeling heartfelt sorry for them and will not be laughing.

Gosh - where to start?!?

Yes - Schadenfreude is not pretty nor is it decent but boy does it make you laugh at times. I had the same reaction to the Hand of God as I am having to the Hand of Henry. In fact the seriousness and earnestness of your post makes me laugh even louder. By the way I should add that I was supporting France through the whole game so I did have another interest in the outcome of the game.

The next biggest irony would be France winning the damn thing in SA. Now that would be hilarious!!

Life and sport, especially football, are not fair - get over it and learn to see the funny side of life!

[Yngwie]

Here's FIFA's ruling on the replayed match I referred to a few posts ago. It was a world Cup Qualifier in 2005.

The Bureau, composed of Chairman Lennart Johansson, Deputy Chairman Julio Grondona, Dr Chung Mong Joon and FIFA General Secretary Urs Linsi, took the decision based on the following facts:

1) At the score of 1-0 in favour of Uzbekistan, in the 39th minute of the match, the referee decided to award a penalty kick to Uzbekistan;

2) The penalty kick was taken and led to goal in favour of Uzbekistan;

3) Before the penalty kick was carried out, an Uzbek player entered the penalty area;

4) Consequently, the referee awarded an indirect free kick to the Bahrain team;

5) However, in such a situation, the Laws of the Game require the referee to order the penalty kick to be retaken;

6) The captain of Uzbekistan team protested to the referee immediately after the mistake had taken place and before the game had restarted. This protest was confirmed after the match;

7) This technical error was confirmed by the match commissioner and the referee inspector in their respective reports;

8) Uzbekistan protested the decision of the referee in a written request, asking for the match to be "cancelled" and be evaluated with a 3-0 forfeit result;

So the replay was ordered because the ref made a technical error (ie he didn't know the rules) rather than a misjudgement or not seeing something correctly. Perhaps Ireland could argue that the ref made a technical error in that he was clearly unaware than handling the ball is against the rules!

[+DoofersDad]

Gosh - where to start?!?

Yes - Schadenfreude is not pretty nor is it decent but boy does it make you laugh at times. I had the same reaction to the Hand of God as I am having to the Hand of Henry. In fact the seriousness and earnestness of your post makes me laugh even louder. By the way I should add that I was supporting France through the whole game so I did have another interest in the outcome of the game.

The next biggest irony would be France winning the damn thing in SA. Now that would be hilarious!!

Life and sport, especially football, are not fair - get over it and learn to see the funny side of life!

Oh dear! I knew it was a mistake to reply to such a tasteless post so I'll say what I have to say and simply ignore you from now on.

The sad thing is that not only do you suffer from Schadenfreude, you clearly know you do and take great delight in something which most of us would consider a mental illness. For those who do not know what Schadenfreude is, it is the malicious enjoyment of another's misfortune. The key thing here is that it is malicious. You are owning up to and taking delight in being malicious. That has no place in CTO.

You suggest I "get over it and learn to see the funny side of life". I can assure you I rejoice in the funny side of life but I don't get my kicks from a maliciuos enjoyment of the misfortune of others.

If you think you are being funny or clever by referring to your Schadenfreude (and you clearly do) let me assure you that you are being neither. I will not waste my time pandering to your misplaced sense of humour again but have written this just to offer a friendly word of advice that you seek help for your sickness.

Maybe one day you will "get over it" and learn to see the genuinely funny side of life.

[+DoofersDad]

So the replay was ordered because the ref made a technical error (ie he didn't know the rules) rather than a misjudgement or not seeing something correctly. Perhaps Ireland could argue that the ref made a technical error in that he was clearly unaware than handling the ball is against the rules!

So does that mean the Liverpool beachball game should be played again?

[Yngwie]

Hmmm. In that example perhaps the ref (wrongly) believed that the beach ball had not interfered with play ie the shot was going in anyway and he didn't see it change direction? If that were the case then it was not a technical error.

[Hearach]

I was SO disappointed to see Ireland beaten - especially in the manner that they were. They fought hard for a result - if only the Scottish team could show such commitment. I shall be supporting Holland now - and before anyone starts - no, I am most certainly not an orange barsteward.

[Alex MacLeod]

I feel very sorry for the Irish team. They worked their socks of and were eventually cheated out of the chance to go to yet another World cup.

The big problem in all this is that cheating is, once again, being highlighted in this sport. At some point serious action has to be taken or the game will lose all credence. Can FIFA act and order a replay? I dont think so. I do, however, think the FAI are right to appeal in order to highlight the problems of cheating and poor refereeing within the sport.

[Yngwie]

Can FIFA act and order a replay? I dont think so.

The very best Ireland could hope for is that France are publicly shamed into offering a replay. But given what is at stake, they won't.

[TheKnowledge]

THIS IS FOOTBALL. This is the culture that football exists within. If you can get away with it, then it's within the rules. "I don't blame Henry, if it was myself or Robbie (not the fat dancer from Take That I assume) then we would have tried to get away with it." Thats what Duff said. Oh, I get it. It's the referee's fault. Just like it's Gordon Brown's fault for the economy for going into recession. Everyone has a part to play. If Miller had done the same for Scotland and put Germany out, everyone would have LOVED it. THIS IS FOOTBALL.

They're all at it. My second team in club football is Spurs and I have rights to an Irish passport (why would you want one?) but Robbie Keane would have done the same without a second thought. Could anyone imagine if Henry had gone to the ref and owned up to what would have happened? He would have lost Dominesh (speeling?) his job, and his nation the world cup appearance that we all want.

Goal line technology, for an obvious reason, would not have helped and anyone calling for extra officials behind each goal should watch the UEFA cup. Football is what it is and we can't change the rules because Eduardo dived, or Henry hand balled. We're a wee team, the big teams have it all their way is a pish argument as well. What about the blatent penalty France were denied?

'Plucky' Irish, keep plucking away.

[bauhaus]

Hmmmm, sorry for the Irish, but purely for the pain we have felt as Scots before. However, most are missing the very important point. ITS OK TO CHEAT ACCORDING TO FIFA. It can be argued that in a league game championships and relegations are not lost on one decision over a season. Champions league games up the stake a bit, with the prize being bigger and more glamourous. But heading to penalties to win a place at THE world cup - once every 4 years, worth how many millions to the knocked out country. ITS OK TO CHEAT. By the way the Knowledge Did you see the way Anelka went down with out being touched. Aiden and Kriss would have been proud. Anelka tried to CHEAT hte ref, but unfortunately the ref was not strong enough to book the cheat.

The result will not be overturned and the game will not be replayed because it would open the floodgates with Fifa/Uefa and all associations. Hopefully what it will do is push Blatter and Platini to get the bigger more important games up to date with technology. ie internationals, european/asian/african/american champions league games, and then any leagues who can afford to kit out their top league teams with the equipment. Time has moved on as has overall quality of top players, and speed of the game. Its hypocritical that Fifa are up for introducing lighter footballs that swing, swerve and dip to improve the game, but to improve the games decision making they condem those who suggest it.

Finally, IF FIFA bin Irelands appeals, I hope the Irish take them to task and SUE them and take them to the court of sport arbritation. Might hasten some steps into the 21st Century

[Scarlet Pimple]

1. It was very naughty and it was grossly unfair to Ireland.

2. If I were the Irish F.A. I would sue EUFA and France for ten million pounds for their potential loss of revenue and for lost pride and prestige by this "against the rules" situation. DEFINITELY, without a doubt, unquestionably,unarguably.

And settle for 6.2 million pounds! LOL

[culduthel]

Oh dear! I knew it was a mistake to reply to such a tasteless post so I'll say what I have to say and simply ignore you from now on.

The sad thing is that not only do you suffer from Schadenfreude, you clearly know you do and take great delight in something which most of us would consider a mental illness. For those who do not know what Schadenfreude is, it is the malicious enjoyment of another's misfortune. The key thing here is that it is malicious. You are owning up to and taking delight in being malicious. That has no place in CTO.

You suggest I "get over it and learn to see the funny side of life". I can assure you I rejoice in the funny side of life but I don't get my kicks from a maliciuos enjoyment of the misfortune of others.

If you think you are being funny or clever by referring to your Schadenfreude (and you clearly do) let me assure you that you are being neither. I will not waste my time pandering to your misplaced sense of humour again but have written this just to offer a friendly word of advice that you seek help for your sickness.

Maybe one day you will "get over it" and learn to see the genuinely funny side of life.

[culduthel]

As an ex Forward I can assure you, you were trained to score and play by fair means or foul.

I remember as a 16 year old training up at Kingsmills with the Thistle team. Willie Grant had recently joined the side. He showed all us young lads, during training, all his dirty tricks from his days as one of the top scorers in the Highland League. The way he showed you them was very effective, you never forgot them, he perpetrated them on you individually during the course of a game during training and then explained to you after the event what he had done to you as you writhed on the ground in agony. He also helpfully explained at the same time how you could avoid getting that done to you in a senior game when you got older. Invariably it ened up with you being carried from the field and that was the end of you for the night.

You soon learnt about the key vulnerable parts of your body on the football field - testicles, knees, shins, ankles, stomach, ribs, nose and many more. You also soon learnt how to give out as well.

If you had to use your hand to control the ball then so be it. If you got off with it - "well done son", especially if the ball ended up in the back of the net. Refs were there to be fooled. The whole 90 minutes was about deception. How we could deceive the opposition and the officials - get the goals win the game. It has always been so. Nothing has changed, except now technology can catch and replay the deceptions fair and foul from all angles.

Many a striker will be admiring Henry tonight.

[starchief]

Did you see that the Olympic committee stripped Bahrain of their only gold medal. The athlete was a drugs cheat. Well....I say cheat. He was just trying to gain an advantage. If the drug-testing programme hadn't managed to get a positive result, then it's that which is at fault. Not the athlete. He was just trying to win and sometimes, without really meaning it, runners try to bend the rules. It's just what he was trained to do. Many runners do and have done it, so it's actually fine...

.....n'est-ce pas?

[ictchris]

I was hearing that the Irish have found a precedent in that Uzbekistan v Bahrain was ordered to be replayed a few years ago, but I've no idea what happened there.

If a missed handball were sufficient to require a replay, ICT would have Butcher buggering off over to Mexico for a rematch with Maradona.

What a joke. The Irish need to get over themselves. Perhaps we should ask for a replay of the Celtic game in 2004 when Lennon dived to get Juanjo sent off? Then Celtic could ask for a replay of the Old Firm game in 1997 when they had a good Di Canio goal chalked off wrongly.

Henry should be condemned - for not celebrating like Adebayor, that would have been funny.

Edit: I recall a few years we got a 1-1 draw with Celtic at home after being 1-0 down at half-time. McGeady (as usual) did a number on us in the first half but in the second we had four players all booked for individual fouls on him (Bayne, Black, Hart and Tokely). He quietened down, we equalised and got a point. Was that cheating?

Edited November 20, 2009 by ictchris

[RiG]

I don't know why players are so threatened by McGeady. His final ball is honking. Just let him go past you and he'll run it out of play or cross it to the other side of the pitch and out for a throw in.

As for the goal it was disgraceful but there is no way the game will be replayed. Nor should it be. I bet Ireland have had a few victories as a result of a dodgy goal or decision in a game. If it were Scotland in this position () I would be adopting the same attitude. Shocked at the blatant cheating but accepting that nothing will be done about it. Certainly Platini isn't going to say "Let's replay the game."

[ICTFCkev]

Gutted. Really gutted. Oh what i would have done to see the Irish Quailify then pump the English.

Guess who my big team is? Tiocfaidh ar la.

[Guest]

I don't know why players are so threatened by McGeady. His final ball is honking. Just let him go past you and he'll run it out of play or cross it to the other side of the pitch and out for a throw in.

As for the goal it was disgraceful but there is no way the game will be replayed. Nor should it be. I bet Ireland have had a few victories as a result of a dodgy goal or decision in a game. If it were Scotland in this position () I would be adopting the same attitude. Shocked at the blatant cheating but accepting that nothing will be done about it. Certainly Platini isn't going to say "Let's replay the game."

I posted on P&B that I think if the rules were changed to reflect the consequences of this level of cheating then perhaps there would be a lesser chance of things like this happening. At the moment if a goal scoring opportunity is prevented by the use of foul play then a straight red card is issued, if this attitude was adopted for creating a goal scoring opportunity through handball or simulation, for example, then perhaps some of these situations would be avoided. There will always be players who take the risk but it would even out the risk/reward situation.