Ireland Demands Replay After Henry's HandBall In WC Qualifier

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Ireland's football association is requesting a replay of yesterday's World Cup qualifier match with France. The French team won after striker Thierry Henry has helped to score the deciding goal while using his hands, according to the Irish side.

During the second leg of the World Cup qualifier played between France and Ireland yesterday, the French team needed to outplay the Irish squad by one point. That coveted goal that came on 103rd minute was scored by captain Theirry Henry, but as Henry was trying to intercept the ball, it bounced off his left hand (see video here). Henry's pass helped William Gallas to send the ball into the net, but the entire Irish team raised their arms into the air, certain that the goal would be canceled by the ref and Henry would be booked for playing with his hands. But, it was not to be the case. The goal was allowed to stand, giving the French team a spot in the World Cup finals.

After the match, Henry himself admitted to playing handball, but said it was not his team's fault that the referee did not notice it. The match was officiated by Swedish referee Martin Hansson. Interestingly, Hansson is being blasted at home for the officiating mistake he made. Local newspapers are blaming Hansson's for Ireland's defeat. They even went as far as saying Hansson should be stripped of the right to officiate major international matches. Some sources report the general sentiment in France was that the victory was theirs, but that it was not particularly honest. Major news headlines in France ran with an undertone of guilt -- "Henry Saves France With His Hand" and "Thierry Henry: It Was A Hand, But I Am Not The Referee."

In any case, it is highly unlikely that FIFA will give in and allow the match replay. It insists referees' decisions are final and are not to be disputed. There is no official statement about the replay on FIFA's website yet, but in the general provisions and regulations document issued by FIFA for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, it says, "No protests may be made about the referee's decisions regarding facts connected with play. Such decisions are final, unless otherwise stipulated in the Fifa Disciplinary Code." Whether FIFA will look beyond its disciplinary code is not clear at this point.

There are precedents of matches being replayed before the final whistle was blown due to external factors, such as power outages and field specifications. But, the only case when the match outcome was canceled after the referee has blown the final whistle was in 2005 during the match between Uzbekistan and Bahrain, in which referee committed a technical error.

Meanwhile, soccer fans are taking it out on the alleged culprit -- Thierry Henry. His English-language Wikipedia page was vandalized this morning, prompting Wikipedia to shut it down. The page is back up and running right now. But, the results of yesterday's qualifier could be to blame for the heightened attention toward Henry's profile on Wikipedia this morning.