Ireland’s replay requests fall on deaf ears
November 23, 2009
Even though Thierry Henry has described a replay as the fairest way of resolving the problems he has caused by handling the ball in the penalty area it seems that Ireland have had to admit defeat. In the France Vs Ireland world cup qualifier Ireland were denied a chance of competing in the finals after Frenchman Thierry Henry used his hand to help teammate William Gallas score a goal that resulted in a 1-1 draw at the Saint Denis stadium in Paris. This in turn meant that France won with 2-1 on aggregate and Ireland was not going to be in South Africa in 2010.
John Delaney, chief executive of the Football Association of Ireland announced that even though they had done their best to secure a replay against the French it was not going to be. He said that they had tried to get both FIFA and the French Football Federation to agree to a replay but that all requests had fallen on deaf ears. He went on to say a thank you to all the fans and members of the public who had leant their support over the last few days and also thanked those French people who had shown solidarity.
The incident has seen Henry branded a cheat by many who thought he was above such behavior on the pitch and has called into question whether referees need more help. A system being tried out in the Europa League this season has an extra official placed on each goal line. This system could be taken to South Africa next year.
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