Ireland Vs France-The French Goal!!

[Sunny]

Keep up the negativity Sunny! By the end of today you'll have us all agreeing with you. Sure weren't we lucky to be even on the same pitch as the French! Little old Ireland looking for replays! What nonsense.

If you are going to accuse me of negativity, you can also accuse Trapattoni. He has admitted that the match can't be replayed and he also absolved Henry saying it wasn't his reponssibilty to tell the ref he handled it.

People need to cop on. I am as gutted as anyone to be out of the world cup (I have my trip booked) but I am not going to be sitting around for 20 years whining about a refs decison that went against us like the English do about 1986.

The bigger scandal was the way FIFA changed the rules to seed teams in the play offs. That's what people should be giving out about instead of armchair fans who don't know anything about football or sport coming out calling for replays and lifetime bans for players.

Again I come back to the Hand of Back in the Heineken Cup. Munster took it on the chin and so should the Soccer team. These things happen. They shouldn't but they do.

 

[One]

He made a technical error on the remedy rather than a genuine mistake on the actual offence.

The referee made a mistake in the Uzbekistan and Bahrain match. He made a mistake last night. There are many different types of mistakes, and a technical error is a mistake.

The precedent set is that the referee was over ruled. FIFA have stated today that the referee’s decision is final, but this is a precedent that shows that there may be exceptions.

A spokesperson for the world football governing body flatly dismissed calls for a rematch, referring to Law 5 in the official rules of the game. (http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/1119/ireland.html ). It states that the referee has 'full authority to enforce the Laws of the Game in connection with the match to which he has been appointed,' and that 'the decisions of the referee regarding facts connected with play are final.'

If FIFA was to allow a replay now, there would have to be a replay everytime a ref didn't award a penalty or did award one that wasn't one, or sent someone off or didn't send someone off etc etc etc.

I don’t know if I agree with that. FIFA wouldn’t have to do this. FIFA should accept that referees need some help refereeing matches and should introduce video evidence as other sports have already done. There is so much money involved in football, and so many cameras at the games, that I think it would be easily implemented.

(For the first time for a rugby match) I was in Croke Park on Sunday watching Ireland versus Australia. I was very impressed with the assistance that the referee was given, and how he was given every chance to make the correct decision.

I don’t think FIFA will allow a replay, but I hope they do. And I’m glad the FAI are making an argument.

 

[Ceist Beag]

Sunny I agree with ye except that I do think there is an opportunity here to try and force a change whereby FIFA may consider ways of preventing this happening again so I do think a short term outcry is warranted here. As you said, a replay won't happen and we don't want to harp on about this but at the same time, if this can be used to bring about a change for the better then I'm on the side of making as big a fuss as possible of this right now.

 

[S.L.F]

The ref was Swedish so as well as the measures already proposed dare I suggest we impose sanctions on porn sites featuring lusty blonde Swedish triplets and so on?

I'm not sure about everybody else but I'd like to see the 'evidence' before we impose sanctions.

 

[ccbkd]

For FIFA to roll out their Fair Play flags at World Cup in South Africa next year is hyprocrisy.. whats fair about an off-side and two of the most deliberate handballs you are ever likely to see without some sort of accountability

 

[S.L.F]

sunny i agree with ye except that i do think there is an opportunity here to try and force a change whereby fifa may consider ways of preventing this happening again so i do think a short term outcry is warranted here. As you said, a replay won't happen and we don't want to harp on about this but at the same time, if this can be used to bring about a change for the better then i'm on the side of making as big a fuss as possible of this right now.

+1

 

[Sunny]

Sunny I agree with ye except that I do think there is an opportunity here to try and force a change whereby FIFA may consider ways of preventing this happening again so I do think a short term outcry is warranted here. As you said, a replay won't happen and we don't want to harp on about this but at the same time, if this can be used to bring about a change for the better then I'm on the side of making as big a fuss as possible of this right now.

I am all for the introduction of technology but there have been worse decisions than this before and nothing has been done. Remember all the goals not given that have crossed the line and that is real simple technology.

We have the moral high ground on this. I think we can protest and call for change in calm dignified way without calling for the boycott of Gillette products and having our Justice Minister been quoted internationally looking for replays. Eventually the world will get tired of our complaints and just see us as whining losers

 

[DB74]

People need to cop on. I am as gutted as anyone to be out of the world cup (I have my trip booked) but I am not going to be sitting around for 20 years whining about a refs decison that went against us like the English do about 1986.

20 years! It's less than 20 hours since the incident so please forgive us for having a rant about it.

The bigger scandal was the way FIFA changed the rules to seed teams in the play offs. That's what people should be giving out about instead of armchair fans who don't know anything about football or sport coming out calling for replays and lifetime bans for players

This is an extremely arrogant comment to make.

 

[Sunny]

20 years! It's less than 20 hours since the incident so please forgive us for having a rant about it.




This is an extremely arrogant comment to make.

Its not really. Anyone who follows football knows that a replay is impossible so why waste time ranting and raving looking for one. I have been following football for 30 years. This is not exactly the first time something like this has happened. There have been other injustices. The players I understand because they were involved but even Trap admits it can't be replayed so why the FAI are looking for one I don't know except they want to be seen to be doing something

Like I say, FIFA have other questions to answer and the FAI would be better off asking questions about the seeding of the teams and pushing for the use of technology than pushing a useless agenda of getting the result overturned.

 

[csirl]

However, my other half asked an interesting question about the circumstances of the goal. If Henry went to the referee after the goal had been scored and said I handled the ball, could the ref have changed his mind given that he didn’t see the handball. In other words, can a referee take a player’s word on an incident and make his decision accordingly?

In some sports, such as cricket, golf and snooker, the referee will penalise any foul that the player voluntarily admits to and it happens quite often. Some sports also have a catch-all phrase in the rule book along the lines that the referee can take whatever action is appropriate, particularly in matters of fair play and sportsmanship. Not sure if the football rule book has this - anyone enlighten us?

 

[Sim Two]

I have enjoyed watching Thierry Henry play soccer over the years and would rate him as one of the top 10 strikers to have played in the English Premiership. At the top of his game he was without doubt one of the best and most clinical finishers of his era.

Last night, he reacted instinctively to the bounce of a ball and did what any striker would do in the same situation.

The big question is what he did in the 90 seconds between the time the goal was scored to the time the match started again. He had about 90 seconds to admit the offence. I would love to know whether he even thought about admitting the handball. His country was badly struggling in a match they were favourites to win, the opposition were playing out of their skins.

Did the thought enter his head that he had used his hand in a way which gave his team a controversial yet badly needed goal? Did he look at the Irish team complain bitterly and have a small pang of guilt? Did he realise that he could be depriving players like Given, Dunne, Keane and Duff of the chance to play on the greatest stage?

I feel sorry for Henry that he will now be remembered for the France-Ireland match rather than all of his achievements over the years.

What would you have done in those 90 seconds? What would you expect an Irish player to do in similar circumstances?

 

[Shawady]

In some sports, such as cricket, golf and snooker, the referee will penalise any foul that the player voluntarily admits to and it happens quite often. Some sports also have a catch-all phrase in the rule book along the lines that the referee can take whatever action is appropriate, particularly in matters of fair play and sportsmanship. Not sure if the football rule book has this - anyone enlighten us?

There was an incident a few years ago where a goalkeeper was about to kick the ball out of his hands but did not notice a player from the other team had stayed forward and was behind him. When he was about to kick it out of his hands the forward kicked it from him while the ball was in the air, and went on to score a goal.
As far as I remember, the ref disallowed it as although it was not against the rules it was against 'the spirit of the game'

 

[ccbkd]

I have enjoyed watching Thierry Henry play soccer over the years and would rate him as one of the top 10 strikers to have played in the English Premiership. At the top of his game he was without doubt one of the best and most clinical finishers of his era.

Last night, he reacted instinctively to the bounce of a ball and did what any striker would do in the same situation.

The big question is what he did in the 90 seconds between the time the goal was scored to the time the match started again. He had about 90 seconds to admit the offence. I would love to know whether he even thought about admitting the handball. His country was badly struggling in a match they were favourites to win, the opposition were playing out of their skins.

Did the thought enter his head that he had used his hand in a way which gave his team a controversial yet badly needed goal? Did he look at the Irish team complain bitterly and have a small pang of guilt? Did he realise that he could be depriving players like Given, Dunne, Keane and Duff of the chance to play on the greatest stage?

I feel sorry for Henry that he will now be remembered for the France-Ireland match rather than all of his achievements over the years.

What would you have done in those 90 seconds? What would you expect an Irish player to do in similar circumstances?

Anybody Remember Paulo Di Canio incident in premiership! He admitted a wrong and stopped play accordingly something Henry didn't dream of doing last night

 

[dodo]

Henry remember is a player who has won everything at Country and Club level. So he should have lead by example and he should have gone to the ref and said he had handled the ball.
It is just not right what happened and no point saying if the shoe was on the other foot and so on, let's stick with the facts and they are that Henry and French cheated to over come Ireland.

 

[Sunny]

Anybody Remember Paulo Di Canio incident in premiership! He admitted a wrong and stopped play accordingly something Henry didn't dream of doing last night

No he didn't. He stopped play when the goalkeeper was injured.

This is also the guy who pushed the referee to the ground so not sure we should be using him as a role model.

 

[Sunny]

Henry remember is a player who has won everything at Country and Club level. So he should have lead by example and he should have gone to the ref and said he had handled the ball.
It is just not right what happened and no point saying if the shoe was on the other foot and so on, let's stick with the facts and they are that Henry and French cheated to over come Ireland.

Why should he? He shouldn't have done it in the first place but it's up to the ref to see it and take action. The Irish Manager and most of players have all said they don't blame Henry. They all know they would do the same thing in his shoes. We need some realism here.

 

[Liamos]

You seem to know it all. "The Irish players would have done the same." You speak with such authority. How do you know this?

 

[levelpar]

the referee also said he had dinner with Thierry Henry before the game and that he loved the Tom Dunne show...

The referee should have gone to Spectsavers and I'll have to go to for an ear test

 

[Sunny]

You seem to know it all. "The Irish players would have done the same." You speak with such authority. How do you know this?

Because they are professional footballers. Sports people do things like this every week. We don't like it but there you go They pull shirts, handle on the line, pretend the ball hasn't crossed the goal line, pull down players, committ fouls etc etc. You can count on one hand (if that) the amount of people that would have told the ref last night that they handled the ball.

This is not Roy of the Rovers. Can anyone who has played sport at any level honestly say they have never looked to gain an advantage or take advantage of a refs decision that has gone in their favour?

 

[shnaek]

Because they are professional footballers. Sports people do things like this every week. We don't like it but there you go They pull shirts, handle on the line, pretend the ball hasn't crossed the goal line, pull down players, committ fouls etc etc. You can count on one hand (if that) the amount of people that would have told the ref last night that they handled the ball.

This is not Roy of the Rovers. Can anyone who has played sport at any level honestly say they have never looked to gain an advantage or take advantage of a refs decision that has gone in their favour?

So we should leave things as they are?