ireland robbed by evil 'enry...

[//\/\/]

:confused: that's a shocker... :mad:link:mad: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWjzBC58dA)

he's saying that he tried to tell the ref - must've been after his half lap-of-honour to celebrate the goal.

great player, but now tarnished forever...

[chuck]

that was a shocking play by a great player, who in my eyes at least is now merely a cheat.

Ireland had their opportunities - but to go out because of such a shocking decision by Henry, then even worse officiating by the linesman and the ref has got to be gutting.

when is football going to get a video ref for goal-line decisions like this one - every other sport on the planet uses video replay for contentious or split second decisions. football is big money - and players and football associations are losing big money on the back of decisions like this.

I blame Barcelona.... ;)

[matt]

I'm not that gutted as I'd much rather watch France in next year's finals than the Republic's negative tactics.

[Rog]

i hope we draw them.............

[Dunwho]

Im gutted... like trapatoni said i would have prefered if we got knocked out on peno's.. but not like this.. its criminal.

The atmosphere in the pub i was watching it in was horrific.. at first it was shock that we had conceeded and then with the replay it was pure and unabridged anger.. it is the single most blatent failure of regulations to come out of football in a long time in my extremely bias opinion as an Irish citizen, but as a fan of football i have lost all interest if this sort of carry on is acceptable to the powers that be in Fifa.

Never mind the fact that they seeded the playoff teams in order to make it easier for the big teams...

..there is something so corrupt about it all.. and its a very bitter pill to swallow.

[cured]

Video replay proponents are the only winners here. That play made me feel horrible for the Irish. As Chick Hearn would have said "they could have called that in braille."

[//\/\/]

the seeding thing always smelt highly of shit and money...

...that's fifa for ya - guardians of the game (right up there with the ioc!)

[happiness stan]

I'm not that gutted as I'd much rather watch France in next year's finals than the Republic's negative tactics.

Yikes, that's a bit harsh.
I get your point but Ireland played out of their skins last night, against a distinctly average France.
Only one game, but I'm changing my mind on Trap, St Ledger and Andrews were excellent, I think he deserves a little credit.

France couldn't string two passes together all night, you could see why they were in the playoffs.

As for the corruption mentioned elsewhere, the seeding thing stinks.
It was great to see NZ qualify the other day, I'd rather they made the WC (and took the next logical step to improving their quality of football) than see a barely interested French side.

The whole night left a sour taste, which was a real shame after such a cracking game.

[Rog]

Fuck FIFA!

[chuck]

It was great to see NZ qualify the other day, I'd rather they made the WC (and took the next logical step to improving their quality of football) than see a barely interested French side.


Did I mention I was at the game!? Wooohoooo!!!

I hope to hell the NZFC can sort out the next step after the WC - it's always an uphill battle with rugby being the dominant sport.

The other struggle is the total lack of competition as a result of being part of Oceania - we play Fiji, Noumea, New Caledonia - they playoff against the 5th finisher in Asia. We only play about 6 games to qualify - then will most likely get spanked in SA.

We need to be part of one of the Asian confederations, to get regular game time and more experience for our players at the international level.

And boy - Roy Keane's still bitter and twisted about Saipan and the FAI isn't he.

Keane has no sympathy for the Irish (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/internationals/8370327.stm)

[happiness stan]

Did I mention I was at the game!? Wooohoooo!!!

Nice, congratulations!
Yes, more than likely you will get spanked...sorry, but it's still the next step regardless.
One decent game in the group stage can raise the profile of the sport and hopefully convince a few kids to forget the egg-chasing.

[happiness stan]

Nice, congratulations!
Yes, more than likely you will get spanked...sorry, but it's still the next step regardless.
One decent game in the group stage can raise the profile of the sport and hopefully convince a few kids to forget the egg-chasing.

As for Roy, that looks a bit daft doesn't it?
Massive game for Ipswich on tv later, is he taking the spotlight off his team?

God knows, he wants to let the FAI thing drop, he does have a point about the defending though, McShane just isn't good enough, nice thinly veiled pop at Given too...I think it's actually against the law to say anything negative about Shay here.

[dubman]

i love when shit like this happens

getting mad online when your team gets robbed only makes it funnier to people who are vastly indifferent to the sport.
at first it was amusing but the lols are paying off in dividends from this fallout

[jole]

Only reason why so much attention has been given to this thing is because of the importance of the match. To be honest every football match i watch has a few cardinal ref mistakes that directly influence the final outcome, wherther its wrong offside call, or simulation of penalty or unfair play foul that doesent get redcarded...., and i ve used to it, i see it as normal thing that in a way gives charm to the game. Afterall some of the most memorable things i remember came from those kinda controversial ref mistakes. Even tho i should be against it since i m from small country whos clubs got robbed as hell in more than few occasions (just pick a sport), i am not, i like that kinda refereing. However my problem is that those ref mistakes often dont seem accidents because rarely u ll see a ref helps a team like Ireland or some other unattractive team when they play vs France or some other over rated team that just has to be a part of WC.

[chuck]

Jole.

I guess we all know that "this kind of thing happens all the time" - but that's not really the point is it?

Cheating is cheating - just because the ref missed it doesn't absolve Henry of breaking the rules.

Sport works because we all (somewhat naively some might say) assume that it's a level playing field - and that everyone has a fair crack at winning, because they play by the rules. Especially with football - I mean, it's always said, all you need is a round ball and some space - and you've got a game.

We know it's not fair - talent, facilities, competitions, training aren't spread fairly across the planet - and Brazil seem blessed with some unnaturally gifted footballers - but we expect and assume that everyone will play by the rules. And there's been a fair share of upsets in the game.

If the technology to prevent that cheating - or to allow the refs to see what they miss is available, then why isn't FIFA allowing its use? FIFA's own slogan is "Fair Play" - but they're constantly shooting themselves in the foot - and IMO it's bullshit to say "That's sport." when a mistake like this happens.

[jole]

As i understood the situation Henry never said he hand played on purpose therefore i dont think he was cheating , it was a refs mistake not to call it.
I agree with you about using tehnology in order to make refs decisions more correct but only in cases of offside and goal line, the rest can be left for the ref to judge based on hes criteria and way of seeing the game, but it would be important that hes decisions and criterias maintain consistent for both teams. People always liked that ref Colina cause he never favorised any team and even if he did make a mistake it didnt influence the rest of hes callings.

[chuck]

As i understood the situation Henry never said he hand played on purpose therefore i dont think he was cheating , it was a refs mistake not to call it.


Mate. Have you seen the footage?

Henry could claim he was conducting Susan Boyle, Pavarotti, and Jacqueline Du Pres in an all-star celebrity 'Stars in their Eyes' - and he'd still have been cheating.

It doesn't matter what he says - he handled the ball (twice) with his hand. First time was possibly instinctive - the second he controls the ball.

That's against the rules - therefore it's cheating.

The ref missed it - therefore it's not cheating? Yeah right.

[IsiliRunite]

This isn't "hand of God" bad, because of Henry's admission, but why are there not enough Ref's to see this things?

I think Henry hit the ball initially on instinct, then tried to keep the play alive. Isn't that what you're supposed to do? I'm sure he thought the goal would be struck down by the time the ball left his foot.