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.
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