Jamie Butcher

Not since 22nd June, 1986 in Mexico City has the football world erupted as it has done this week. Not since Diego Armando Maradona punched the ball over Peter Shilton in the quarter-final of the World Cup to send England crashing out of the tournament has the subject of ‘cheating’ been brought so much into the public spotlight.

On Wednesday night Thierry Henry, the former Arsenal legend and current Barcelona man, handled the ball in extra-time of France’s World Cup playoff with Ireland to set up William Gallas, who headed home to put the French 2-1 ahead on aggregate and end the Irish’s World Cup dream.

I watched the game at a bar which had a decent amount of both French and Irish supporters, but the majority of people were English hoping to see a passionate encounter, and they weren’t disappointed. As Gallas’s header hit the back of the net the French fans went crazy… seconds later as the replay showed Henry’s handball the whole bar erupted into an almost deafening chorus of boos. The French fans even looked embarrassed.

Let’s get things into perspective, realistically either side could have won on the night – the Irish had chances to win the game in the home and away leg but didn’t take them and there’s no guarantee that if the match had gone to penalties that France wouldn’t have won 5-0 anyway.

The Irish FA officially sent a letter to FIFA asking for the match to be replayed which was rejected. In truth, if FIFA sanctioned the replay then there would have been uproar from managers about losing their players for another draining game at a crucial time of the season. Scheduling a replay would have been a logistical nightmare with the World Cup draw less than two weeks away and no further international breaks this year.

The next factor that has been brought up is Thierry Henry – did he cheat? Well, the laws of the game say he did cheat – he handled the ball and kept it in play. However, the difference is in the question. Thierry Henry did cheat, but he isn’t a cheat. He’s a gentleman of the game and one of few left. I truly believe that although the act itself was awful, that the man was acting on pure instinct. If anyone had been in that situation with a split-second to think, would you have done the same? Bearing in mind that your actions in that split-second could decide whether you were under the global spotlight in the biggest football tournament in the world or watching it at home.

If Henry had been caught, the worst the Frenchman could have received was a yellow card for intentional handball. The reaction by the Arsenal legend after the game, in my opinion, summed up his feelings on the night. I know he was criticised for celebrating the goal but again, I think that goes down to instinct. At the full-time whistle, Henry wasn’t celebrating in front of the French fans or running round hugging team mates, he was sitting on the grass with Ireland captain Richard Dunne where he openly admitted to him that he’d handled the ball in the build up to the goal.

The question now is whether Henry’s reputation will stay intact after this storm blows over? I think he’ll be remembered as the classy, respectable player who gave the Premier League some of its most exciting moments ever. That’s how he deserves to be remembered.

I don’t want this to sound as though I’m excusing Henry for what he did as I’m not but I do understand why he did it. At the same time I also feel heartbroken for the Irish fans and players. It may well have been Robbie Keane’s, Richard Dunne’s or Damien Duff’s (amongst others) last chance to play at a World Cup and it was stolen from them which isn’t fair. Which moves me onto the next point of who is to blame?

The answer is a difficult one, the referee obviously didn’t see it, the linesman obviously didn’t see it either, but surely anyone with any sense could tell from five or six Irish players reactions and protests that there must have been something in the claim. To not even consult the linesman is a difficult thing to understand.

Once again, we have been brought back full circle to the claim; no scratch that, plea for video technology to be used in football. Why can’t there be a system where each team has one or two appeals per game to challenge a referee’s decision if they believe that it’s wrong? The captain alone could have the responsibility of asking for the appeal. The game would be stopped for no longer than 30 seconds while a fourth official reviewed the tape and travesties such as what happened Wednesday night wouldn’t happen again.

As well as footballing implications there are also financial implications to consider – it’s been estimated that the loss of the playoff has cost the Irish FA £1M, while the French will see a boost to their national economy of around £1 billion. Should the French economy get a boost that large by cheating? It doesn’t set a good example to anyone, whether that’s current professionals or the new generation coming through. We need to make it clear that cheating won’t be tolerated in the beautiful game to maintain its integrity and its romance.

Let’s hope that we can get something positive from this situation and that FIFA will finally relent on their disagreement with video technology.

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