it's 3am. why am i still awake?
Two words: Thierry Henry.
For those who don't care for football or for next year's World Cup, please look away. Otherwise, feel free to share in the misery for Ireland's dramatic exit out of the qualification playoffs. What happened was that France's Henry clearly handled the ball in a spot that may be offside before squaring it to another teammate for a goal. Unlike those who are currently demonising the striker, I see the blame rest squarely on FIFA and the referees for not having instant play and thus missing out on the handball. In fact, Thierry claims he even told a ref that it was a handball, though he didn't mean it, and the ref replied, 'You are not the ref.' (via the Guardian). And honestly, Henry's not Maradona. Henry actually owned up to the handball, whereas Maradona bloody gloated about his action as the 'Hand of God'.
It's the worst possible outcome for both teams: Ireland, for having been cheated out of a place, and France, for having their reputation tarnished as cheaters. I wonder if FIFA will do anything to address this controversy, maybe even offer a replay?
For those who don't care for football or for next year's World Cup, please look away. Otherwise, feel free to share in the misery for Ireland's dramatic exit out of the qualification playoffs. What happened was that France's Henry clearly handled the ball in a spot that may be offside before squaring it to another teammate for a goal. Unlike those who are currently demonising the striker, I see the blame rest squarely on FIFA and the referees for not having instant play and thus missing out on the handball. In fact, Thierry claims he even told a ref that it was a handball, though he didn't mean it, and the ref replied, 'You are not the ref.' (via the Guardian). And honestly, Henry's not Maradona. Henry actually owned up to the handball, whereas Maradona bloody gloated about his action as the 'Hand of God'.
It's the worst possible outcome for both teams: Ireland, for having been cheated out of a place, and France, for having their reputation tarnished as cheaters. I wonder if FIFA will do anything to address this controversy, maybe even offer a replay?