Le hand Of TH14 - Part 3

And here are some reactions from the BBC

"I played with Thierry Henry for six years at Arsenal and I can assure you he was as honest as the day is long.Like Maradona, he knew exactly what he was doing and, for the Thierry I know, that is out of character but people will look at his handball in the build-up to France's extra-time equaliser, which sent them to South Africa with a 2-1 aggregate victory, and say he's cheated.

We've all done it on the pitch - the ball's gone past you, you're out of position, you stick your arm out, concede a free-kick and sometimes a yellow card. So I'm not surprised at all he stuck his arm out in the first place. That is not blatant cheating. But the second part, when he scooped the ball back, is the deliberate bit and that's what will taint his reputation"

- Lee Dixon, ex- Arsenal


"In 15 years of knowing him, he has behaved magnificently. I haven't seen him do anything badly wrong in his whole career so we can allow him one mistake.
It's similar to the situation with Zinedine Zidane - he's been sent off 14 times, some for things a normal person in the street might be in prison for. We always found an excuse for Zidane so why can't we find one for Thierry as well?
If this happened at the other end of the pitch for Robbie Keane, I'm sure he would have done the same. "

- Emannuel Petit, ex-Arsenal


"France were there for the taking and Ireland didn't do it. Same old story."
The Irishman, who made 65 appearances for the Republic as a player, continued: "If I'd been there in the dressing room after the game, I wouldn't be talking about the handball. I'd focus on why the defenders didn't clear it. They should've cleared it.
"I'd be more annoyed with my defenders and my goalkeeper than Thierry Henry. How can you let the ball bounce in your six-yard box? How can you let Thierry Henry get goal-side of you? If the ball goes into the six-yard box, where the hell is my goalkeeper?
"These are skills and lessons you learn as a schoolboy.
"Ireland had their chances in the two games and they never took them. They had chances at Croke Park (in the first leg) and they had chances on Wednesday.

- Roy Keane, Manchester United Legend



General Public Reaction from the BBC

"The clamour to award the Irish a replay will however open up a whole can of worms. Do England get a second chance for Diego's Hand of God? Do Spurs get a replay for Pedro Mendes' 'goal' at Old Trafford? Do the Welsh get another go following Joe Jordan's handball at Anfield in 1977?"

Anon via text: "Earlier in the game, Robbie Keane blatantly used his arm to control the ball. If he'd scored as a result, Ireland would be through. He was caught, Henry wasn't. So Ireland just aren't as good at cheating as the French. Try harder next time."

"The only person(s) who can be held responsible for this travesty is the referee and his linesman. 'If the ref don't blow get on with the show'."

Francois Bayrou, a former candidate for the French presidency: "In an ideal world, the match should be played again. I saw the match and like a lot of people I wasn't very proud, and like everyone else I asked why don't we have a video match official. It works in rugby and it works very well."

Leading French politician, Philippe De Villiers: "Raymond Domenech should express his public regrets and show a gesture of dignity towards Ireland. The moral of this match is that you can cheat as long as you don't get caught. The France team is going to be labelled for years as a team of cheats."

Stephen Fottrell, BBC News with Irish fans in Paris: "Wherever we go, the French are looking at us in an apologetic, embarrassed way. People at the hotel, cabbies, waiters - they are all pleased to be at the World Cup but sorry for how it happened. We've had them coming up, shaking our hands and saying 'We are ashamed'. When you pick up the papers here, it's obvious - the French robbed Ireland."

We knew in the stadium something was wrong. There were no replays inside but there was such a protest from the players, something was up. Shay Given's such a gent, so for him to go mad it was obvious. Following the game, there was a bottleneck waiting to get into the station and the fans were just chanting 'cheat, cheat, cheat'. Everybody still went out and still really enjoyed the night but they were gutted, devastated."

Former France international David Ginola on BBC Radio 5 Live: "I'm very embarrassed by the situation. I don't feel very proud to be French this morning. The Irish played very well and they deserved to go through as much as France, maybe more. I'm very surprised Fifa haven't mentioned anything about it - the whole world saw the handball. This is a pure injustice. Everyone in France, the press and everyone, says there should be a replay."