The controversial handball by Frenchman Thierry Henry is still causing shockwaves despite much of the sparks and debates calming down after FIFA ruled out any possibility of replaying the match. In addition, FIFA obviously refused to grant Ireland an extra spot in South Africa. Adding the Republic of Ireland to the World Cup draw would make no sense (no disrespect to Ireland and its fans). Making changes would imply having to rework the format for the World Cup which is time consuming and unacceptable. Some would argue if Ireland were allowed, then Costa Rica must be included in South Africa too as some feel Uruguay scored an illegitimate goal from an offside position.

Irrespective of FIFA’s stance and public opinion, rules cannot be bent or changed at the request of one or a couple of entities. The wise thing was for FIFA to order the France-Ireland encounter to be replayed based on a blatant case of injustice. No team should be allowed to go through to South Africa because it feels unjustly eliminated. A quick glance back at World Cup 2002 would show the South Koreans received one favour after another to get positive results against Portugal, Italy and then Spain while pushing through to the World Cup semi-finals. Did Portugal, Italy or Spain decide to withdraw, stop the match or officially ask for a replay? Without diminishing the current situation, a review of some of the mind-boggling decisions which transpired during the games between the Koreans and the three European sides reveals mistakes happen whether intentionally or not.

The best solution would be to reprimand and hold Henry accountable by suspending him. Recently FIFA President Sepp Blatter disclosed information pertaining to the situation as he admitted there will be a review of Henry’s conduct by the disciplinary committee. The question remains whether Henry will be suspended in the course of the season (Barcelona is not concerned with this so it ought to be a ban on the national level) or for a number of matches with the French team since the misconduct occurred on duty with France. Since the Irish feel they were inappropriately eliminated, then should FIFA suspend the main culprit for the duration of the event in South Africa as a small remedy for the unjust ousting of the Irish?

FIFA’s committee must carefully study the situation before taking any further action which could potentially create another furor instead of trying to address some of the controversy created by Henry’s handball. One thing springs to mind: Henry admitted to the handball after and not during the match. As such, there is no reason not to punish the French forward for his actions during the match.

In Serie A, video replay is used by the disciplinary arm of the ruling body to punish those responsible for major incidents which were not caught by the referee during the course of the match. No obvious rule stands against doing the same with Henry.

Below is a list of teams with some quality players which will unfortunately miss the World Cup next summer:

Ireland- The Irish team may not be the most talented to miss out on qualification but certainly was unjustly eliminated by France. The Ireland squad is not as deep as other but has talented players such as Aiden McGeady who plays as a winger and/or forward for Celtic. The Irish can also count on the goals of experienced scorer Robbie Keane and the consistency of goalkeeper Shay Given. The team is coached by the shrewd Italian Giovanni Trapattoni who has won league titles in a number of countries.

Mali- the African nation boasts Frederic Kanoute who scores regularly for Sevilla, Mohamed Sissoko who is the Juventus midfield general and Barcelona’s Seydou Keita who has already scored six goals in 10 league games. Mali may not have the football pedigree of the likes of Egypt, Cameroon and Nigeria when it comes to Africa football but with the aforementioned players and Real Madrid’s Mahamadou Diarra can certainly form a well acclaimed side.

Russia- The team includes Arsenal’s Andrei Arshavin and Chelsea’s Yuri Zhirkov but failed in the play-off stage against Slovenia after losing on the away goal rule. The Russians won 2-1 at home only to lose 1-0 in Slovenia. Arshavin is one of the most entertaining players when he is at his best.

Bosnia- The Portuguese were missing Cristiano Ronaldo and yet were able to overcome the Bosnians after two identical 1-0 wins. The Bosnia- & Herzegovina team has quite the the talent with names such as Edin Dzeko, Vedad Ibisevic, Zlatan Muslimovic and Zvjezdan Misimovic. The Bosnians were beaten by a more experienced team with the likes of Ricardo Carvalho, Pepe, Deco, Nani and Simao. The Bosnians formed an entertaining and high-scoring team which ironically failed to find the net against Portugal. (Please refer to a previous article dated November 5, 2009 and titled Will Portugal Overcome Bosnia Without Ronaldo for more coverage on this topic)

Sweden- The World Cup next summer will not feature one of the most gifted big man in the shape of striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Barcelona forward has audacious talent considering his size and has so far notched seven goals in just nine la Liga games for the Catalan club. Ibrahimovic was one of the main reasons behind Inter’s domestic domination in Italy prior to his summer move to Barca.

Egypt- Egypt receives a mention because of two hotly contested matches with Algeria which occurred in a space of four days. The two countries are the only ones to play each other three times during the World Cup qualifiers to determine which side makes it to South Africa. The team from the land of the Pharaohs was able to beat Algeria 2-0 in Cairo to force a play-off match in Sudan which was ultimately won by Algeria 1-0. The team is led by Al-Ahly’s star player Mohamed Aboutrika and counts on the goals of striker Amr Zaki who played for one season with Wigan Athletic (On loan last season). Other notable names include Mohamed Zidan who plays for German side Borussia Dortmund and Ahmed Hossam Mido (who played in England and has not featured in the recent matches for Egypt).

The other national teams which will be missing on South Africa 2010 do not contain the same star-name appeal though the likes of Togo (which boasts Manchester City’s Adebayor), Morocco and Tunisia failed to qualify from Africa while in Europe all the big guns have qualified after the France-Ireland fiasco. The Netherlands, Italy, Germany, England and Spain have all booked their place in next summer’s World Cup.

With much of the qualification process almost complete and South Africa 2010 looming large, it would make sense to assess some of the world’s best custodians who will be present during the World Cup. Goalkeepers such as Petr Cech will be excluded from the discussion since their nation failed to qualify for next summer’s big event.

During World Cup 2006 in Germany, Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon was in outstanding form and played a significant role in the Azzurri’s triumph. The Juventus goalie performed a miracle save to keep out French star Zinedine Zidane’s header from securing in all likelihood France’s victory in 2006. Buffon was beaten only twice during the tournament, once courtesy of a freak own-goal by Cristian Zaccardo and the second time from the penalty spot through the legendary Zidane. The goalkeeper is closing in on Italy’s goalkeeping icon Dino Zoff’s 112 caps for la Nazionale. Buffon will once again be very critical for Italy’s chances in South Africa 2010 just as he was in Germany 2006 and his current form bodes well for Marcello Lippi’s side. He seems to have regained his outstanding form following a solid start to the season with Juventus and Italy.

Another name to keep in mind is that of Brazil’s number one Julio Cesar who like Buffon also features in the Italian league. The Brazilian goalkeeper has become an impenetrable wall during Internazionale’s domination on the domestic front and has received praise from both Brazil’s coach Dunga and his rival Buffon. Julio Cesar has often performed miraculous saves and has been a great contributor to the Brazilian cause with his country conceding a mere 11 goals in 18 appearances in the qualifying stage. His form will play a significant role in Brazil’s progress during next summer’s World Cup.

Both Buffon and Julio Cesar will face stiff competition from Spain’s Iker Casillas during South Africa 2010 in the quest to claim the title of the event’s best goalkeeper. The Real Madrid custodian was instrumental in his country’s triumph in Euro 2008 and has often performed admirably for Los Blancos. However, in recent times, his performances have been inconsistent as evident by his blunder against Milan in the Champions League which allowed Alexandre Pato to sneak in a goal for the Rossoneri. On most days, Casillas exudes confidence and puts in some impeccable displays though there is a slight downward trend in his current performances . The fact that Real Madrid’s defense has leaked goals the past two seasons does not do the Spaniard justice yet he also has been at fault on a number of occasions. It is true that even the best goalkeepers make the occasional mistake or commit a rare blunder but both Buffon and Cesare have proven to be more consistent in recent times.

Those three goalkeepers were actually named along with Petr Cech as part of the best five goalies by none other than fellow professional and custodian Sebastien Frey who represents Fiorentina in the Italian league. The Frenchman was not included because he is unlikely to be in South Africa 2010 even if the French national team makes it due to the fact that Raymond Domenech does not rate him highly. It is a shame because Frey can be quite outstanding when in form as witnessed in la Viola’s games during this season. Another noteworthy mention goes to the Republic of Ireland’s shot-stopper Shay Given who is a solid and consistent player but probably ranks a step below the likes of Buffon, Cesar and Casillas.