Didn’t you get the memo? Nothing is a better manifestation of a nation’s spirit and character than the behavior of their foremost football players and the nature of the national side’s play - be it swift, nimble, dominant and attractive or defensive, cowardly, gutless and conniving!
At least he’s admitting to it.
As someone with an Irish background (some branches recent, some not), it was a bit heartbreaking seeing as I never get to cheer for Canada in the world cup and it would’ve been nice to be able to cheer on Ireland…
Certainly a crappy way to go out. Must be how the Buffalonians (?) felt when they lost the cup due to a goal scored with a skate in the crease.
He’s admitting to it so I won’t hold it against him. It would’ve been classy to admit it on the field though but noone is going to do that.
You know what would have been really classy?
Not cheating.
At the post-match interview Henry was asked directly, and he was quite happy to say it was a handball.
He put a spin on it by saying the ball hit his hand (rather than “I handled it”), but he said (paraphrased), “yes, it was a clear handball, I agreed with the irish players right away that I’d done it, but I played the whistle and the ref didn’t give it”.
You can hear his answer on the BBC website: BBC Sport - Football - Irish 'cheated' by Henry handball
(I’d also note that France could have easily had a penalty which the ref didn’t give, so might not be such an injustice in the overall context of the match.)
Good point, You can learn everything about a people by looking at their national football side.
I generally agree with most of the posts, but I would put a bit less blame on the referees. As far as I could tell, it was pretty much impossible to see what happened in the penalty area beacause of all the players (both for the linesman and the referee); unless they would have been lucky enough to stand in a spot that provided aline of sight to Henry. Also, while two players were off side, it was marginally, it’s easy to see it on a replay but probably a lot harder in real time.
I’m mostly just pissed off with Henry and his celebrations at the end. This is an experienced football player who has won everything there is to win and he chooses to cheat - he handled the ball twice, there was nothing accidental about it - in order to progress. Since they can’t - or won’t - turn back the decision, they might try to suspend him for say 4/5 matches; like they tried to do to Eduardo. It would make things a bit more bareable (for me, not for the Irish I would think) if Henry would be sitting at home this summer.
About the French offering a replay, in that Arsenal game the entire team (including coach) wanted to give the ball back and one player (Overmars I think) just didn’t get the memo and continued play, which led to a goal. He didn’t do it intentionally (see where the comparison comes apart) but just hadn’t noticed the throw in was suposed to go back to the opposition’s goalkeeper. Afterwards he felt bad about it and he was happy the game was replayed. Henry on the other hand willfully cheated and got away with it.
I’m assuming you are talking about the Given/Anelka incident? From watching that back it looks pretty clear that it wasn’t a penalty. But it could easily have been given as one.
If the ball had just hit Henry’s hand then it would be one thing. But it hit it, then he practically caught the ball and changed the direction of it. I don’t think he could believe that he had gotten away with it. The linesman had a good enough view. The ball changed direction in such a dramatic way he had to at least suspect that something dodgy had gone on. France are such a great football team, nobody really expected Ireland to qualify. So when Ireland played the way they did it took people by surprise. We came this close to it. Such a gutting way to go out.
And two of the feckers were offside when the ball was played. Grr.
I think that “rather than” is a huge thing. This wasn’t close to an accidental handball that he got an advantage from. It was a deliberate handball that resulted in a goal. Playing to the whistle would have meant a goal kick if he hadn’t had cheated.
So he’s a dirty cheat that is now trying to weasel out of it.
Exactly. He should have been booked for a dive.
Anyone notice how many times a certain Mr R. Keane controlled the ball with his arm (incl. one in the French penalty box)? 
He got called on it by the ref, but if the whistle hadn’t gone there’s no way he’d have stopped playing.
When can we expect the calls for Robbie’s retirement from football to contemplate the error of his ways? Or does it only count when you score a goal from it?
Anyway, why are people shocked about the Thierry Henry incident? The French putting their hands up has been a national pastime since 1940.
He plays for Tottenham and RoI, that’s pretty close to retirement…
I can understand why the Irish are pissed. They shouldn’t have even been playing France to start with. Platini spits changed the play-off rules at the last minute to manipulate it so the top teams would not go out (by playing each other).
Henry is a cheat, he benefited. isn’t it about time we just told our kids to cheat their little hearts out? It’s obviously the accepted way to win…
At a bare minimum Henry should get a 3 match ban (friendlies not counted) for intentionally misleading a match official to gain an advantage. FTR I think clear-cut diving offences should get the same punishment.
I don’t see how there can be a replay. What level of refereeing mistake is sufficient for that?
I also don’t really blame Henry. I admit I haven’t seen his attitude after, and if that is what he is being blamed for, fine, but players break the rules all the time. The ref and linesmen should take the blame on this - that is what they are there for. I’ve got a lot less problem with what Henry did than I do with Ronaldo’s pissy behavior as regards Rooney in the England v Portugal game. Breaking the rules to get an advantage doesn’t disturb me as much as trying to harm another player’s career.
To be honest, I don’t give a flying fuck. Football bores me, it looks like Henry thought he was playing Gaelic.
We’ve got other things to worry about, grumble, recession, grumble, debt, grumble, global warming, grumble, grumble.
So cheat all you like, just don’t get caught?
From the Fifa Fair Play Code:
- Play fair
Winning is without value if victory has been achieved unfairly or dishonestly. Cheating is easy, but brings no pleasure. Playing fair requires courage and character. It is also more satisfying. Fair play always has its reward, even when the game is lost. Playing fair earns respect, while cheating only brings shame. Remember: it is only a game. And games are pointless unless played fairly.
Yes, that is exactly what I said. Cheat as much as you like. :rolleyes:
Shouldn’t have done it. Should have been caught. But what Ronaldo did was MUCH worse, even though it had less of an impact on the result. And quoting a fair play code from the most integrity-challenged organization I have ever seen isn’t going to alter my opinion.
And I’ll admit to hypocrisy on this. I would still swerve through 8 lanes of rush hour traffic to run over Diego Maradona (or Terry Fenwick).
Clear something up for me…if the ball had hit the middle of his forearm, it wouldn’t have been a big deal, but because it hit his palm near his wrist, it’s an international scandal?
No. Both are very, very wrong but there it just somehow feels worse when it is a directed hand. Somehow more intentional.
For what its worth, seeing as someone mentioned it, I’m all for Keane getting penalised for controlling the ball with his arm. I’d welcome it. I hate all forms of cheating. I certainly would have been angry at him if he’d knocked France out of the competition by such methods.
What it comes down to is that rampant cheating is killing the sport. Maybe not financially, but definitely in spirit and for those of us that support unsuccessful teams the spirit of the sport is all we have to hold on to.
If the ball had hit the middle of his forearm it wouldn’t have been a big deal, but because he first controlled it with his hand to stop it going out of play, and then handled it again to better set up his cross, it’s an ‘international scandal’.