Re: R.I.P Fair Play

You can call me naive but I still believe game should be played fair way. Only because (almost) everyone around you would cheat to win doesn t mean to you have to do it too.

From the most recent cheat s history Liverpool s David Ngog took an awful dive against Birmingham not so long ago. It saved us from a humiliating home defeat which made me happy but it was really spoiled by the fact we had to cheat to draw.

Henry sure is a great player but they always come and go. 60 years ago players didn t kick the ball out of play when they saw their opponent injured untill Brazilian football legend Garrincha has done it, setting up a precedent. Nowadays it s a natural thing to do. That s how you become immortal, Henry had his chance but he blew it.

You can call me naive but I still believe game should be played fair way. Only because (almost) everyone around you would cheat to win doesn t mean to you have to do it too.

I agree. Henry did what most ( but not all ) would have done in the same situation, he went on like nothing happened. This does not justify his behaviour, he chose to act like that and was not forced to do so.
FIFA keeps putting up lame excuses not to use technology because it s convenient for them to maintain a little margin of control over the matches ( since some huge interests are involved ) and let s not forget that many matches are decided on small episodes, so that little margin is more than enough.

Anyway I think that French people would have been proud of Henry had he just called the handball right away, even if that could have costed them.

My compliments to Thierry Henry. He s admitted that the only fair thing to do would be to replay the match.
He also apologized for his actions, not only to the Irish team, but to the whole of Ireland.
If only the French Football Federation would do the same......

We all know there won t be a replay. I do hope FIFA finally wake up and try to prevent this happening in the future.
Their response has been disappointing, and in my opinion a bit of an insult to the Irish.
OK, no replay, but come out with something to make us believe this can t be tolerated.

There are a few good articles on the matter to be found at www.bbc.co.uk/sport .
Robbo Robson s blog is a good laugh (read the part about learning his grandson the basics of football).

If Ireland had qualified this would have given the economy a massive boost. I just hope this matter doesn t become more political than it already is. I also hope no-one thinks this is a matter for the courts...

The French Football Federation has spoken:


The FFF understands the disappointment and bitterness of the Irish players, management and supporters, read a statement. The federation never sought to deny the refereeing error which saw the equalising French goal allowed.

At the end of the match and because French football itself has suffered in the past by events of a similar nature, the FFF management expressed their regrets and sympathy to their Irish counterparts.

During matches, decisions are taken by the referee and these decisions are final. As a result, the result of the match cannot be changed and the match cannot be replayed.

The Fifa decision is binding and applies to both federations.


I find that a bit disappointing, but understandable. It would have been really interesting if the FFF had proposed a replay.
This might be the end of all this, but I d still like to hear what Platini has to say.