Wednesday, 25th November 2009

According to The Times, the referee of the France v Ireland match, Martin Hansson, admitted he almost quit his job after failing to spot Thierry Henry’s controversial handball. The Swedish 38-year-old had been subject to harsh criticism for his inability to spot the blatant infringement, leaving Hansson to ponder if all the negative attention was worth standing up to. Graphics of the incident have since persuaded the highly regarded official to continue refereeing.

The graphic showed that Hansson had his view blocked by three players and the assistant was on the other side of the pitch to Henry, with Irish goalkeeper Shay given blocking his view as well. These latest pictures have brought a sense of relief to the officials, who have been equally disappointed to have missed such an important part of the match.

Martin Hansson said, “The graphic has given the whole team a remedy as it clears the whole refereeing team in this incident. I asked myself if this job is worth all the humiliation I had to face. I now realise after all the support I’ve got, it wasn’t my fault It was an unlucky situation with big consequences for Ireland. But it wasn’t our referee team’s fault.”

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