Sacre bleu: France are given a hand in qualifying for the World Cup
The former European Golden Boot winner, Thierry Henry, shattered Irish dreams last night by supplying William Gallas with the easiest of finishes to eliminate Ireland from the World Cup. The manner of their defeat however had nothing to do with his feet. France were leading the two-legged tie after their victory in Dublin on Saturday until Robbie Keane leveled proceedings after 33-minutes in the French capital. The game continued without incident into extra-time until the 103rd minute. The ball should have skipped past the French skipper but instead Henry controlled the ball with his hand twice before completing the simple task of assisting Gallas. The Irish were livid. Each member of the team surrounded and berated the referee for amazingly missing the foul seen around the world.
After the final whistle was blown, the Irish sunk to their knees and dreamt of what could have been. Thierry Henry, one of the most revered players in the history of the game, for the first time in his career faced true controversy. Like every player on that pitch, all Thierry wanted from Wednesday's match was for his team to qualify. However, what he did was illegal and one could argue that he has a responsibility to play the game in the right way, especially as a self-styled ambassador of the game. Henry was muted on the pitch but openly confessed to his actions in the post-match interview and apologized on his Twitter page in an effort at reputation management. He said "Yes, there is a handball but I am not the referee". This was a different and somewhat more sensible approach to crisis management than was displayed by French manager, Raymond Domenech who claimed he "did not see a hand".
Since the match, every Irishman, including the Prime Minister Brian Cowen, has been calling for a replay. The Football Association of Ireland stated that the event will 'damage the integrity of football'. Continuous news coverage of the incident has led to comparisons with Maradona's infamous 'Hand of God' at the 1986 World Cup.
Regardless of the pleas, the possibility of a rematch is ruled out, with Ireland manager, Giovanni Trapattoni saying: "We know it will be impossible for the game against France to be replayed". Despite this acknowledgement, Henry's reputation is certain to plummet after his actions, with some people proposing to boycott French and Gillette products. It will take a highly experienced PR consultant and reputation management specialist to restore the former Arsenal star to his former standing in Ireland. In so many sporting situations, high profile sports people coupled with their lucrative image rights would be wise to retain an expert sports PR consultant who has experience at dealing with a crisis situation. They can arise out of the blue and if handled badly could affect reputation and ultimately sponsorship deals.
Henry's actions were wrong and greatly unfair but it is probable that had any Irish player been given the same opportunity, they would have taken it. There are few Paolo Di Canio's left in the highly competitive and lucrative game (the ex-Sheffield Wednesday star stopped play when faced with an open goal after Everton keeper, Paul Gerrard was badly injured), but when the cost of losing is so high, and with top flight football still resisting the introduction of technology to assist referee decisions, there are many who would happily accept the official decision to let the goal stand. And in football, they do say, "what goes around, comes around", so who knows what luck will befall France in next year's World Cup. However, it is safe to say last night the luck of the Irish was severely lacking.
After the final whistle was blown, the Irish sunk to their knees and dreamt of what could have been. Thierry Henry, one of the most revered players in the history of the game, for the first time in his career faced true controversy. Like every player on that pitch, all Thierry wanted from Wednesday's match was for his team to qualify. However, what he did was illegal and one could argue that he has a responsibility to play the game in the right way, especially as a self-styled ambassador of the game. Henry was muted on the pitch but openly confessed to his actions in the post-match interview and apologized on his Twitter page in an effort at reputation management. He said "Yes, there is a handball but I am not the referee". This was a different and somewhat more sensible approach to crisis management than was displayed by French manager, Raymond Domenech who claimed he "did not see a hand".
Since the match, every Irishman, including the Prime Minister Brian Cowen, has been calling for a replay. The Football Association of Ireland stated that the event will 'damage the integrity of football'. Continuous news coverage of the incident has led to comparisons with Maradona's infamous 'Hand of God' at the 1986 World Cup.
Regardless of the pleas, the possibility of a rematch is ruled out, with Ireland manager, Giovanni Trapattoni saying: "We know it will be impossible for the game against France to be replayed". Despite this acknowledgement, Henry's reputation is certain to plummet after his actions, with some people proposing to boycott French and Gillette products. It will take a highly experienced PR consultant and reputation management specialist to restore the former Arsenal star to his former standing in Ireland. In so many sporting situations, high profile sports people coupled with their lucrative image rights would be wise to retain an expert sports PR consultant who has experience at dealing with a crisis situation. They can arise out of the blue and if handled badly could affect reputation and ultimately sponsorship deals.
Henry's actions were wrong and greatly unfair but it is probable that had any Irish player been given the same opportunity, they would have taken it. There are few Paolo Di Canio's left in the highly competitive and lucrative game (the ex-Sheffield Wednesday star stopped play when faced with an open goal after Everton keeper, Paul Gerrard was badly injured), but when the cost of losing is so high, and with top flight football still resisting the introduction of technology to assist referee decisions, there are many who would happily accept the official decision to let the goal stand. And in football, they do say, "what goes around, comes around", so who knows what luck will befall France in next year's World Cup. However, it is safe to say last night the luck of the Irish was severely lacking.
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