Soccer Fitness

Thierry Henry Wins Hands Down!   by Giorgio Pirelli

During the World Cup play-off against the Republic of Ireland, France’s captain Thierry Henry confessed to a handball, which he termed as ‘necessary to exploit what was exploitable’. The Irish on their part have called him a cheat. Read on for more…

It all happened during extra time in the 180th minute when the ball touched Henry’s hand during the buildup to William Gallas’ goal that assured France a 2-1 win. And, of course, a place in the World Cup next year at South Africa. Henry openly admitted to ball handling and later apologized for it. Though his latest remarks on Twitter might not go down well with the fans: “I’m not the referee, but if I hurt someone I’m sorry. The Irishmen could have doubled their lead two or three times. The ball ran up against my hand and I continued to play, the referee did not whistle and there was a goal. I would have preferred that it happened differently but this is not down to me – it is the referee. However, I do not believe our qualification is stolen. I said to Richard Dunne that the ball had touched my hand, but he told me, ‘you are not to blame’.”

Meanwhile, Henry has also admitted that the Republic of Ireland deserve a berth at the World Cup finals. He has even gone so far as to support calls for a replay! The Football Association of Ireland made a complaint to FIFA, but the governing body remained firm in their decision that a replay was out of the question. Henry strongly feels that a replay would’ve been the best way to defuse the tension, “Naturally I feel embarrassed at the way that we won and feel extremely sorry for the Irish who definitely deserve to be in South Africa. Of course, the fairest solution would be to replay the game but it is not in my control.”

Though Henry is in the line of fire, he keeps repeating that the handball was an ‘instinctive reaction’. He further clarifies, “I have said at the time and I will say again that yes I handled the ball. I am not a cheat and never have been. As a footballer you do not have the luxury of the television to slow the pace of the ball down 100 times to be able to make a conscious decision. People are viewing a slow motion version of what happened and not what I or any other footballer faces in the game. If people look at it in full speed you will see that it was an instinctive reaction. It is impossible to be anything other than that.”
Henry also approached the Irish players, wearing white Soccer uniforms, the referee and the media right after the game in order to express his embarrassment at having qualified this way… With his constant and open admission to a handball and his past record of fairness, it’s important not to single out Henry and humiliate him for a mistake. Remember, to err is human, to forgive divine… As for FIFA, maybe it’s time it introduced goal line technology.

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