Do you want the Republic of Ireland to

[Beefymcfc]

I'm tuned in, ready to roar, come on Ireland, giv' us a score!!

[ant london]

Fuck it I've come over all nostalgic.

Cmon Ireland (don't think they can do this but I'm behind them)

[crossan]

Yes.

[The Foggy Blue]

Alanballshat: "As a football fan you have to want the best teams at the world cup (except Portugal obviously) So I personally hope that the likes of Ribery, Henry, Benzema and Anelka get the chance to show their skills at the WC."

Sky_Blue_Stew: "I want to see France go through, not because I have any particular affinity to them or dislike towards Ireland, but because come next summer, I prefer to watch more entertaining matches."

Well, the "best team" over the two legs won't be in South Africa, but France's "entertaining" style will be. I'm gutted. We were ripped off but I have to get on with it - cheating the ref is all part of it. Its a cruel blow but Robbie Keane might have done the same thing and I wouldn't have complained...

I'm waiting for Platini's clamp-down on professional cheats now.

I'm very very dissappoitned.

[dazby]

I have the same problem with Aussie and England...god knows what'll happen if they are grouped together.

Fucl off, we don't want ya.

[sky_blue_stew]

Foggy Blue: I stand entirely corrected on the above remark. France were abysmal, and really don't deserve to be playing the World Cup. I felt so sorry for Ireland last night, I'm sure the whole footballing world did. My comments before were because I approached the fixture as a complete neutral, and therefore just wanted to be entertained. But by good football, not cheating. May France crash out next June in the group stages. They don't look capable of going any further.

[Slim]

I have the same problem with Aussie and England...god knows what'll happen if they are grouped together.

Fucl off, we don't want ya.

Ever even been to Manchester Darren? I have 20+ years more claim to supporting Australia than you have to supporting City, so I would think long and hard about the glass house you live in before casting those stones.

[CitizenYank]

If we had video replay this wouldn't have happened, but fuck it; why not a replay. (Doubtfull :( _)

[john@staustell]

If we had video replay this wouldn't have happened, but fuck it; why not a replay. (Doubtfull :( _)

Not a chance in hell mate. City (and England) have been on the rough end of so many things in my life I just think 'oh well, tough shit'.

What gets me is all these fools writing into teletext and SKY etc saying Henry used to be some sort of saint or something, but now they dont like him. Idiots. He's just another bloke, just another pro footballer. If the refs can't spot it (twice) then they need a kick up the arse.

Bring in the video ref.

[ronk]

ronk is still in a rage right now. We knew we couldn't count on an honest ref but this was just too far.

Platini gamed the system to make it hard for us but in the end we didn't roll over (like they'd hoped). Best performance from Ireland in many a year. They were diving and cheating all game and the ref was forced to intervene.

This has done irreparable damage to the credibility of the game in the views of many Irish (and possibly worldwide) supporters. I haven't really thought that football was straight in a long time, I didn't think it was this bent, this brazen and this unapologetic.

I can see a lot of Irish people who would have gone to the World Cup regardless, if we'd been beaten by a better team, now changing their mind. We had something like the 12th largest travelling support at the last World Cup despite not being in it.

[CitizenYank]

If we had video replay this wouldn't have happened, but fuck it; why not a replay. (Doubtfull :( _)

Not a chance in hell mate. City (and England) have been on the rough end of so many things in my life I just think 'oh well, tough shit'.

What gets me is all these fools writing into teletext and SKY etc saying Henry used to be some sort of saint or something, but now they dont like him. Idiots. He's just another bloke, just another pro footballer. If the refs can't spot it (twice) then they need a kick up the arse.

Bring in the video ref.

Fair play. But if Henry admits it, and now national politics are involved; how can the FIFA not look biased, looking like they
preferred the Froggies....

If this the US, or China, I don't care what procedures there are, BANG, REPLAY!!

[john@staustell]

I understand your rage Ronk but have you known any player to stop, catch the ball, and say "sorry I handled that"?

I think it pales into insignificance with the 'Hand of God' business for credibility damage. Maradona had his hand in the air over Shilton, in a WC quarter final (was it?), when umpteen thousand people in the stadium could see it, and hundreds of millions around the world, without replays or fuck all. Obvious.

Only the ref and linesman it seems didn't (allegedly).

But football blunders on and on in the hands of muppets like Blatter and Platini, who think of all the 'good' they're doing for the world.

[ronk]

My anger isn't just about Henry, it isn't even mostly about Henry, he's just a cheating footballer, they're available by the gross.

What annoys me is the inevitability about the whole thing. They did everything they could to undermine us and stack the odds against us, when that didn't work they shifted the balance so that all but the most blatant fouls went unpunished. Normally, that does the trick. But it didn't, we rose above it. They just kept on going.

We've had some tough days in Ireland. Steven fucking Staunton. Roy fucking Keane ruined 2002, our last major tournament. We've worked so hard and endured such a tough time. And finally we fought our way back. This wasn't a refereeing mistake, it was flat out corruption. We weren't robbed by a mistake, it was cynical and Henry knew exactly what was happening, that's why he tried it. He knew there was a good chance the ref would "miss" it.

[Robinho_Is_GOD]

Simple solution to this......

BAN HENRY FROM THE WORLD CUP........that will then act as a detterent to other cheating bastards before they bother, that they will have consequences to face.

Henry the footballer = World Class
Henry the man = NO CLASS

[xavi6]

And the appeal is on -

Press Release

Football Association of Ireland

Thursday, 19 November 2009

The Football Association of Ireland today (November 19) confirmed that it will lodge a complaint with FIFA, following last night’s World Cup play-off match between France and the Republic of Ireland in Paris.

Conclusive video evidence of a deliberate hand ball by Thierry Henry, which led to France’s additional time goal, has been seen by millions of football fans worldwide. The blatantly incorrect decision by the referee to award the goal has damaged the integrity of the sport and we now call on FIFA, as the world governing body for our sport, to organise for this match to be replayed. The hand ball, was recognised the FIFA commissioner, the referee observer and the match officials, as well as by the player himself.

There is precedent for the invalidation of such results. In 2005, the Bureau of the FIFA World Cup organising committee reached a decision to invalidate the result of a World Cup qualification match between Uzbekistan and Bahrain on the basis of a ‘technical error by the referee of the match’. The Football Association of Ireland is hoping that FIFA and its Disciplinary Committee will, on behalf of football fans world-wide, act in a similar fashion so that the standards of fair play and integrity can be protected.

ENDS

Issued on behalf of the Football Association of Ireland by;

[Twobob]

My anger isn't just about Henry, it isn't even mostly about Henry, he's just a cheating footballer, they're available by the gross.

What annoys me is the inevitability about the whole thing. They did everything they could to undermine us and stack the odds against us, when that didn't work they shifted the balance so that all but the most blatant fouls went unpunished. Normally, that does the trick. But it didn't, we rose above it. They just kept on going.

We've had some tough days in Ireland. Steven fucking Staunton. Roy fucking Keane ruined 2002, our last major tournament. We've worked so hard and endured such a tough time. And finally we fought our way back. This wasn't a refereeing mistake, it was flat out corruption. We weren't robbed by a mistake, it was cynical and Henry knew exactly what was happening, that's why he tried it. He knew there was a good chance the ref would "miss" it.

You hit the nail right on the head Ronk! The whole playoff bullshit has been corruption after corruption! The incident with Henry was just the tip of it all - you could almost see the discust on Henrys face when his dive didnt win a free kick shortly before the handball. Platini and Blatter are fucking bad for the game and I'm not whatching one bent match of the corrupt cup at all - fuck them all

[zuricity]

To........ Get the replay !!!!


I wish the FAI every success with the attempt to get a replay. Somehow, I think it's not going to happen though.

Also , I simply can't believe (as has been mentioned elsewhere ) that FIFA got away with moving the goalposts to
seed the ties in September. For that alone I think Blatter should be reprimanded or sacked. This is not
what fairplay and the spirit of the game is about.

I couldn't help noticing that at the time the goal was scored , the live tv pictures were from a camera showing the free kick from a distance for the entire duration of Free kick execution to ball hitting the net. Whereas previously the camera view was fairly close up on most events. Maybe it's just me though.

The french didn't deserve the draw last night, they were simply very poor.

I thought Ireland dominated the game and were desperately unlucky not to get a second goal in normal time.

[Wonderwall]

they have a set a precedent so it will be interesting to see what crap they come out with

[carl_feedthegoat]

they have a set a precedent so it will be interesting to see what crap they come out with

IT WAS THE WORST PIECE OF CHEATING EVER.............JUST AS BAD AS THAT GOAL SPURS SCORED AGAINST THE SCUM...YOU KNOW ..THE ONE WHERE IT VIRTUALLY HIT THE BACK OF THE NET AND WAS RULED NO GOAL.


THIS HAND BALL THOUGH....WAS NOT JUST A TREAD OF THE MILL HAND BALL, IT WAS FAR FAR WORSE AS HE GUIDED THE BALL PAST GIVEN WITH HIS HAND !!!

PLATTINI AND BLATTER WILL NOT GIVE IT A MOMENTS CHANCE..................HELL WOULD FREEZE OVER BEFORE THOSE BENT BASTARDS DID ANYTHING ABOUT THIS.

[Fish111]

Ireland can protest all they want, they are just wasting their breath. Nothing will change until a football super-power gets beaten in the world cup final by a minnow country by way of a blatant cheat. Then you will see every peice of new technology introduced, until then, we have to suck on the shit that is dealt out by the officials week after week in the domestic game and at every major tournament.

Virtually ALL other sports have introduced technology to aid the officials yet football still have the same way of officiating a game as they did way back in the 1800's, for the biggest and most poular game in the world that is a fuckin joke.

Ireland blew their chance by losing at home and missing two glaring chances during the return leg as well as a cheat from Henry, but was Anelka denied a penalty during that game as well? Ireland failed to beat the poorest French team for many a long year, they need to look at themselves over the whole qualifying period and not just at one incident. If the boot was on the other foot would all the Irish be sat at home moaning about the fact that Keane had handled the ball to get Ireland through to South Africa? Would they fuck, they'd be doing a riverdance across the Liffy.

England moan about Maradonna but i'd be on the piss for days if Rooney handled the ball so we could lift the World Cup, i wouldn't give a shit about fair play then. Football is watched, supported and run by hypocrites, that's just the way it is.