Michel EULER/ASSOCIATED PRESS
A sporting dispute between Ireland and France is threatening to blow up into a major diplomatic scandal on Thursday, as top politicians wade in and the sport's governing body denies that anything can be done.
At issue is Wednesday's soccer match between the two nations. In extra time, the French scored a crucial goal that sent them on to next summer's World Cup in South Africa and eliminated the Irish squad. Based on replays, the goal was triply illegal: two of the French attackers were offside, while one of them – captain Thierry Henry – clearly touched the ball with his outstretched hand.
Today, FIFA, which oversees world soccer, said there would be no replay of the game, despite a flurry of Irish protests.
After Wednesday's match, which ended in a tie, but favoured France on a 2-1 aggregate score, France's Henry admitted touching the ball.
"I will be honest, it was a handball," Henry said. "But I'm not the ref. I played it, the ref allowed it. That's a question you should ask him."
Some are already calling the play "Le Hand" and "Le Main de Dieu," referencing a famous World Cup goal in which Argentina's Diego Maradona appeared to knock the ball into the English goal with his fist. After the match, Maradona responded to questions about the controversial play by attributing the goal to "the hand of God."
Gallic indifference to the cheat is being greeted by green rage in Dublin.
Today, Ireland's justice minister, Dermot Ahern demanded that FIFA, soccer's governing body, nullify the result and replay the match.
"If (the current) result remains, it reinforces the view that if you cheat, you will win," Ahern said.
Giovanni Trapattoni, the 70-year-old Irish manager, also demanded another chance.
"For the dignity and integrity of football, we will go to France and play again," Trapattoni, a legendary Italian, said. "(FIFA president) Sepp Blatter goes on about fair play – let him reflect on what happened last night. Where is football going if a team is cheated out of fair play? Where are we going if this decision stands?"
FIFA has never in its history nullified a result because of a refereeing decision. A FIFA spokesperson this morning called attention to Rule 5 in the Laws of the Game, which reads in part that "the decisions of the referee regarding facts connected with play are final."
Last night's game has renewed calls from around the world for soccer to institute an instant replay system, like those used in the NHL and NFL.
Both FIFA president Blatter and UEFA president Michel Platini are against technology, preferring instead to experiment with five officials – one additional official behind each goal – during this season's inaugural Europa League.
Ireland captain Robbie Keane was furious with Henry and said goalkeeper Shay Given had a clear view of the incident.
"We knew anyway. When you see the reaction of Shay, he's two yards away from it. You don't get a reaction like that (otherwise). (Henry) almost caught it and walked into the net with it," Keane said.
"He's an absolutely top player and has been for a long time, but it was a clear handball. He actually dragged it in from going out. I wouldn't expect it from anybody."
France struggled over both games, winning 1-0 at Croke Park with a deflected goal from Nicolas Anelka, and Henry praised Giovanni Trapattoni's resilient team.
source: http://www.thestar.com/sports/socce...h-rage-over-france-s-handball-soccer-win?bn=1
Unbelievable. It's happened in the past, it's still happening, and it'll happen in the future. In a sport where 1 missed or bad call can drastically change the outcome of a game, they have to do something to avoid these so called mistakes. Yet, fifa is unwilling to be reasonable on any level.
