France V Ireland - Wednesday, 18th November 2009 - World Cup 2010 Playoff Second Leg

[passinginterest]

Robbie Keane was caught FIVE TIMES handling the ball. Henry does it once and the fcuker misses it!

Exactly, Robbie had five deliberate handballs in the game I don't hear anyone calling him a cheating scum bag?

Henry had one, a desperate attempt to keep the ball in play, I think most people would instinctively do the same thing in that situation, it's not his fault the officials all missed it. I'm sure while he's delighted they qualified he's not too pleased with himself and the way it happened.

It's possibly the most horrible way imaginable to lose a game but we had plenty of chances to have the game won in the 90minutes and making Henry out to be some sort of Devil man won't change that. :(

Absolutely sick to the stomach. :(

[Park_Lane]

Exactly, Robbie had five deliberate handballs in the game I don't hear anyone calling him a cheating scum bag?

Henry had one, a desperate attempt to keep the ball in play, I think most people would instinctively do the same thing in that situation, it's not his fault the officials all missed it. I'm sure while he's delighted they qualified he's not too pleased with himself and the way it happened.

It's possibly the most horrible way imaginable to lose a game but we had plenty of chances to have the game won in the 90minutes and making Henry out to be some sort of Devil man won't change that. :(

Absolutely sick to the stomach. :(


Mate the difference is the ref saw them and he didnt get away with it!!!

[Philly]

Volleyball?

Dis we sign up to Volleyball??

BULL****!!

[razor]

The replay from behind the goal looked like Gallas handled it in as well.

[awec]

The replay from behind the goal looked like Gallas handled it in as well.
He headed it.

[galwayjames]

The replay from behind the goal looked like Gallas handled it in as well.

No, he definitely didn't.

[carloz]

Reading on other forums and at least the whole world of football fans in on Frances back for this. When you think of everything we have gone through. Playing the world cup champions twice, tough matches against Bulgaria, Georgia, Montenegro and Cyprus. Fight back from 1-0 down to give ourselves an unbeleivable chance of getting to the world cup and then have THAT happen. Suck anger built up now:(

[MysticMon]

Exactly, Robbie had five deliberate handballs in the game I don't hear anyone calling him a cheating scum bag?

Henry had one, a desperate attempt to keep the ball in play, I think most people would instinctively do the same thing in that situation, it's not his fault the officials all missed it. I'm sure while he's delighted they qualified he's not too pleased with himself and the way it happened.

It's possibly the most horrible way imaginable to lose a game but we had plenty of chances to have the game won in the 90minutes and making Henry out to be some sort of Devil man won't change that. :(

Absolutely sick to the stomach. :(


YOU IRISH OR FRENCH???? :confused:
WAKEN UP.....HENRY KNEW WHAT HE WAS DOING, PRACTICALLY THREW THE BALL IN WITH HIS HAND!!

SICK!!! FAIR PLAY TO THE LADS. GREAT PERFORMANCE!!

[Scram]

AKA "Robin Ba$tard"

http://blog.turntablelab.com/Thierry-Henry.jpg

What were you watching??

http://dynimg.rte.ie/0002c3f4-674.jpg

[Philly]

never in a million years could you have scripted this. If anyone knows a bigger disaster in irish football history id like to hear it. I think i wanna cry

i am crying!

[gaiscíoch]

Is there any justice in football???? Work your ass off for 120 mins and give everything for the cause blood and guts. As players playing for all your life your one aim is play in a world cup.
Make no mistakes about it this is the end of the road for alot of our players.
My heart goes out to all of them.

And of all people to cheat against us a man who's ex wife who had his child is Irish?

Cheating is a word thats not a word any football fan wants to use but Michel Platini and Sepp Blater et al I hope you happy FIFA Fair Play my hole.....

[passinginterest]

Mate the difference is the ref saw them and he didnt get away with it!!!

That's pretty much the point I'm making though.

I know it's hard to be rational and objective so soon after the event and it doesn't make it any less sickening.

I do think the case is now firmly made for a video referee to review penalty area incidents, it's the only way to deal with things like that.

[tricky_colour]

well the match was a draw so....(I know we won over 90 mins but dont think that counts)

I think the games will be judged seperately we will pick up some decent points for beating France away I think because they are high ranked, the win over 90 mins counted at Betfair for me anyway, but nothing makes up for being cheated out of a place in the finals.
The good thing about it is the team walk away with their heads held high, they are not a defeated team but a cheated team, the only player who should hang his head in shame is the bald headed one.
I think I might have an extra half pint tonight...

[antrimgreen]

French *****!!!! All the crap negativity before the game on here...... stick it.... we went out and got cheated, panalties at least we deserved, out played them all the way.

:mad::(:mad:

[Closed Account]

First of all, linesman has to see the offside! Its a dead ball. Mcshane has to head it. Anybody else in the world would, even then he could of thrown an arm in front of henry, protect the ball. The linesman is back in play then and has to see it. Even when all the irish players throw up their arms, he should reevaluate and call handball. Its a disgrace. If eduardo can be punished retroactivly then so should henry, linesman, Mcshame

[A face]

Unreal to be honest. Day light robbery.

[old git]

now let's not be rash!


sick as a dog. We didnt deserve tht at all. well done lads, you did us proud. Kilbane was excellent, Dunne and Sledge were mountains, O'Shea was excellent, Duffer ran his socks off and his tears nearly got me going down the same road at the end. Robbie was fantastic and proved to any naysayers he's world class. Shame our subs were Gibson and McShane. no offence to the lads but what I wouldve given to see Stephen Reid and Finnan coming on instead....

Bring in a video ref now!!!

robbie was fantastic worked his ass of :D but if he was world class he would have scored instead of trying to take ball round keeper .

[Thunderblaster]

Sepp Blatter wanted to seed the teams to help the big sides get through and he got his wish, with the exception of Russia. I hope he sleeps well tonight following the results. The playoffs bore a hint of suspicion as they were seeded at late notice. If there was any hint of corruption in this, and it would have to be proven, then there should be a police investigation. After Henry's handball, the worst bit of blatant cheating against the Irish ever, I don't think that he would be comfortable walking any street in Ireland after that. He has disgraced himself and has made himself a National Villain and I hope that no one buys an Henry jersey again after that. All Thierry Henry merchandise should be boycotted.

[theworm2345]

I blame the refs not Henry. The sad thing is the main ref had a great game up until then. If O'Shea, Duff, Doyle, or Keane had put away their chances it wouldn't have been a problem.

[Andyh]

Thought you guys played very well tonight, much better than the first leg and deserved a lot more. On a more positive note, good to see slovenia going through, at least upsetting the FiFA mafia a bit!

[Ciaran W]

Well done lads,great support and well deserved the win..well done henry i hope you sleep well tonight.i actually cant believe whats just happened

[holidaysong]

It'll be interesting to see how long the cheat takes to update his twitter page (http://twitter.com/Thierry_Henry)..

[Scram]

I blame the refs not Henry. The sad thing is the main ref had a great game up until then. If O'Shea, Duff, Doyle, or Keane had put away their chances it wouldn't have been a problem.

Deliberate handball from a guy who passes himself off as a gentleman.

A sh!t performance from the linesman, and very poor defending from Paul McShane to let Henry in.

[Flume]

Don't blame Henry. If I had have been in the position to do the same and get Ireland to the world cup I would have. Anyone who says they wouldn't is deluded or lying. The blame lies with the officials. The ref has to see it. It's also offside, missing that is just as bad, it was so obvious!

Wonderful performance, moral victory, blah blah blah. We should have won it in normal time and if we were in any way clinical we'd be sorting out trips to S.A. Theres a lot more to look at in this than the officials incompetence. McShane's role in the squad would be a good place to start.

[Thunderblaster]

It'll be interesting to see how long the cheat takes to update his twitter page (http://twitter.com/Thierry_Henry)..

Definitely not in a hurry when the Irish gives him a piece of their mind!!

[stiffler]

I have never been as despondent in my life. Feel like sitting up all night and drinking my sorrows away. Cant even face work tomorrow.

Is this justice? No


Just cant get over how good we played, and the end reward. What a kick in the teeth.

Someone cheer me up please?!!

[DotTV]

I hope Henry ends up like Robert Enke....... he is a knacker, I cant believe that.

This says it all though, we all asked ourselves before the tie, will the refs and linesman turn a blind eye to a vital hand ball or dodgy call, and this was it. The linesman had a direct view of the play. There is no possible way he missed it unless he was thinking about his payoff. He called keane numerous times for the slightest hand balls...... Hope Henry gets hit by a bus

How many times before the home game did Brady make a point of saying the media that ref has to be strong and call the game correctly. His suspicions came home to roost tonight.

[kkdub]

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-French-Cheated-their-Way-to-south-Africa/201716018791?ref=nf#/pages/The-French-Cheated-their-Way-to-south-Africa/201716018791?ref=nf

Send FIFA a message!

[Jon'o]

FIFA will turn a blind eye to it all... lets be honest they condoned all of this in the first place by changing the goal posts and seeding the draw.

If this was the other way round they wouldn't think twice about stepping in.

[Thunderblaster]

Someone cheer me up please?!!

Sepp Blatter or Michel Platini might!!:eek::eek::eek:

[Jon'o]

Someone cheer me up please?!!

His twitter page is linked above... sign up and give him some $hit

[MysticMon]

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Football/Pix/pictures/2009/11/18/1258584620146/Republic-of-Ireland-001.jpg

GUESS WHO WAS FOR FRANCE???

[Metrostars]

Henry was one of my favourite players of all time but jeez, what a f[i]u[/u]cker.

If this doesn't mean a call for replay reviews of goals, then it will never happen. Proud of ALL the players tonight. I feel sorry for the likes of Kilbane who won't get a chance at another world cup.

[Noelys Guitar]

From the FIFA site.
Five minutes later, France skipper Thierry Henry won the match for the hosts when his angled pass amid a goalmouth scramble was met by the head of Wiliam Gallas. The goal enabled France to qualify and avoid a repeat of their humiliating failure, at the hands of Bulgaria, to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup finals.

ANGLED PASS. ffs. What a cover up.

[osarusan]

First of all, I witnessed one of the bravest and most passionate performances ever by any Irish side tonight. I was so proud of them.

On the goal, McShane should have gotten a touch on it instead of trying to shepherd it out for a corner. Henry's handballs were deliberate, no doubt. The way he reacted after the final whistle tells you he knows he's gonna be slaughtered in the media tomorrow.

I don't think that the goal had anything to do with referee bias or anything like that, just that the referee or linesman didnt see it.

With Doyle's header, Keane against Lloris and Duff's chance, we could and should have won the game in 90 mins.

And if an Irish player had handballed in exactly the same way, or dived and earned a penalty, would we be condemning them at the moment? No, we'd accept it was wrong, and that the player deserved criticism, but the player would have just gotten us to the World Cup, so we really wouldn't be all that bothered. And if England had been eliminated in the way we just were, we'd be over the moon.

[HarpoJoyce]

If any fan smiles knowing Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' goal stood against England at the 1986 World Cup then I am afraid Les Pigeons have come home to roost.

Marco Tardelli asked that Thierry Henry come forward and admit his action.

[livehead1]

They've even interrupted some local radio programme here to talk about it; I hope this thing rumbles on. Interesting point made on Sky Sports. Eduardo was banned for 3 games for trying to gain an unfair advantage. What price a similar decision, highly unlikely I feel.

[old git]

Don't blame Henry. If I had have been in the position to do the same and get Ireland to the world cup I would have. Anyone who says they wouldn't is deluded or lying. The blame lies with the officials. The ref has to see it. It's also offside, missing that is just as bad, it was so obvious!

Wonderful performance, moral victory, blah blah blah. We should have won it in normal time and if we were in any way clinical we'd be sorting out trips to S.A. Theres a lot more to look at in this than the officials incompetence. McShane's role in the squad would be a good place to start.

totally agree henry cheated but we would have all done the same . officals missed ref & linesmen both missed offside & handball
and yes we should have won it in normal time but not clinical enough in front of goal.. but still a wonderfull performance by a magnificent team tonight :ball:

[Thunderblaster]

This man is wanted for the crime of seeding the playoff draw to ensure that countries like Ireland cannot qualify for the World Cup!! His name is Sepp Blatter!!

[DotTV]

First of all, I witnessed one of the bravest and most passionate performances ever by any Irish side tonight. I was so proud of them.

On the goal, McShane should have gotten a touch on it instead of trying to shepherd it out for a corner. Henry's handballs were deliberate, no doubt. The way he reacted after the final whistle tells you he knows he's gonna be slaughtered in the media tomorrow.

I don't thenk that the goal had anything to do with referee bias or anything like that, just that the referee or linesman didnt see it.

With Doyle's header, Keane against Lloris and Duff's chance, we could and should have won the game in 90 mins.

And if an Irish player had handballed in exactly the same way, or dived and earned a penalty, would we be condemning them at the moment? No, we'd accept it was wrong, and that the player deserved criticism, but the player just got us to the World Cup, so we really wouldn't be all that bothered.

How do you expect people to react ? The argument about the shoe being on the other foot is irrelevant. Henry cheated. End of story.

[rambler14]

I dare somebody to blame Kevin Kilbane for the French goal tonight or say he was the weak link. Best player on the pitch tonight. Outstanding.
So often an easy target of the Irish fans because he's the elder statesman of the team. 102 Caps and the 102nd being his best ever in an Ireland shirt.

That Enke comment is cowardly. DodgyCanadian should be banned for life.

[yapster]

robbie was fantastic worked his ass of :D but if he was world class he would have scored instead of trying to take ball round keeper .


Typical Keane does something good then turns around and does something stupid. His stupid decision to take it around the keeper when he had the time to shoot or lift it over the keeper was the real reason Ireland are out of the WC Finals. It gave the french renewed confidence and they controlled the game ater that and the Irish team were gutted after it even though they still played out of their skins. Robbie Keane is NOT a top striker as Liverpool found out last year,he may score the odd goal or two but he will miss the most important ones due to his stupid decisions and attempts at glory. When he was most needed tonight he failed. I know he works hard but his inital job is to put them away especially at crucial times of the match. Kudos for his goal but when it mattered most he bottled it.

[CF1989]

he cheated yes, he was desperate to get his country to a world cup! its the linesman that people should be complaining about

[Kildareman]

Now Henry will be looked upon as lowly as Maradona and deserves every bit of it.
Cheating scumbag.
Delaney must be real sickened, that just fcuked up his summer holidays.
BTW Did anyone notice the expression on Gallas' face after he 'scored'.

[The General]

I could nearly kill myself to get some justice. Blatter, Platini, henry.... i hope ye burn in hell...

[Noelys Guitar]

They've even interrupted some local radio programme here to talk about it; I hope this thing rumbles on. Interesting point made on Sky Sports. Eduardo was banned for 3 games for trying to gain an unfair advantage. What price a similar decision, highly unlikely I feel.

Thats it. Go on anyones message board whether it be German, English, Italian. They are all saying the same thing. It makes a mockery of football if this result is allowed to stand.

[livehead1]

I dare somebody to blame Kevin Kilbane for the French goal tonight or say he was the weak link. Best player on the pitch tonight. Outstanding.
So often an easy target of the Irish fans because he's the elder statesman of the team. 102 Caps and the 102nd being his best ever in an Ireland shirt.

That Enke comment is cowardly. DodgyCanadian should be banned for life.

I thought he did really well for our goal but I thought much of his distribution was substandard as per usual. Also got himself a booking after giving away a free in a decent position when he should have headed the ball. I thought he was 'OK' but nothing to warrant two posts commenting how brilliant he was!

Great servant though, don't doubt that. Time to retire now though.

[Ciaran W]

So annoyed :o

[youngirish]

Absolute disgrace. Not only was the goal a blatant handball but it was also a blatant offiside. However the ref and linesman somehow managed to miss both. If there was any justice the officials should all be taken out and executed. Publicly. FIFA are criminals. We all knew this would happen and yet they did it in front of our noses.

[The General]

Wat a performance from ireland. Well done lads