This attempt to get a hand to a ball in the air is becoming far, far too common in the modern game.

You will recall that Simunic did it twice against us three years ago. He was pinned once, but got away with the second, which was actually clearer.

At least one player tries it on in almost every game you watch these days – at all levels.

The offside however…..

Henry looks like he could be a handy Gaelic footballer, the way he managed to bring the ball down with his hand – although his reluctance to use his left foot would be frowned upon by the average Irish fan.

What more do you want from them – multi-tasking?

He is very clear that it wasn’t his fault or that of his assistant refs.

They didn’t spot the clear offside.

They didn’t spot the French player attempt to handball while it was in the air (missed by an inch with a raised hand).

They didn’t spot Henry handling the ball not once, but twice – and very clearly at that.

It’s not their fault that they couldn’t spot three clear cut infringements in the space of two seconds.

What the hell were they watching in those two seconds?

I find the FIFA and FM games are pretty close to the mark in all matters such game politics and off field shenanigans.

“Well played chaps, you gave it your all, rotten luck what? C’est la vie”

At that juncture – what purpose does honour serve?

However considering that Ireland had a chance to come back and win the game and so the dream hasn’t been extinguish yet. Forfeiting the game isn’t an option

One of the most disappointing things I’ve seen in sport was Ranatunga cracking the shits and leaving the field after Murali was called for throwing. Whether he chucks or not is irrelevant, the umpires, referees, assistants, officials in general are there to make such calls, if you don’t like it, don’t play from the beginning, you can’t have a sook and run off like a 7-year-old every time things don’t go your way.

This was a FIFA sanctioned professional football match in front of a crowd of tens-of-thousands watched by millions more across the world and yet you suggest Ireland should literally drag the game down to the lowest of lows because the referee didn’t see a handball?

I’m saying, at that very point, immediatey after knowing you have been dudded – why kick off to restart the game?

The dream is gone – cause a ruckus, force the ref to abandon the game – put the spot light on him. What’s the point of continuing with the game?

What are the rules if the ref is forced to abandon the game at the 77th?

The irish weren’t offering to replay that game.

What about avoiding to re-start – what happens in that circumstance? The ref might have to stop the game short of time – that might have actually helped the Irish more.

Ireland only needed one more goal to go through by away goals

I think they had about 15 minutes left in the game to score the winner so I don’t think getting yourself a red card would do Ireland any favours.

I have to admit – seeing that the ref had missed the handball right at the death knell – as an Irish player I would’ve:
1. Had an absolute urge to smash Henry’s face in (afterall, what does a red card matter at that point?); and
2. refused point blank to restart the game and mugged the 4th official, afterall, at that point, why bother with a restart when you have just been screwed over big time? Why add any semblance of normality to the game by restarting?

“What shocked me most was that at the end of the match, in front of the television cameras, this player (Henry) went and sat down next to an Irish player (Aston Villa’s Richard Dunne) to console him, even though he’d screwed them three minutes earlier.”

‘If I’d been Irish, he wouldn’t have lasted three seconds.’

‘I think that Raymond Domenech is the worst coach in French football since Louis XVI,’ to be sure, to be sure

The one thing that Keane says that rings true above all else is what he says about mental toughness – even football fans understate this – even someone like Fos does (technique without mental toughness is of no value to anyone).

About what Keane says about Ireland failing to clear the ball – it’s true – but when you see the clip – the players basically stopped, waiting for the ref pick up on Henry – Keane mentions this as well – it’s all part of the mental toughness – or lack thereof.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fXh7VpObbg

Check it out when a reporter’s phone goes off halfway thru the interview.

If any changes in rules need to be made, well there’s so much political crap to get it done.

The world game nature makes it inheritably conservative.

________

Pip on the side note, I would like your opinion on my article about Craig Johnston. You were following the socceroos in the 80s and therefore offer a unique prospective on his legacy over australian football.
http://www.theroar.com.au/2009/11/16/craig-johnston-a-great-australian-success-story/

That’s the logical answer.

But logic doesn’t come into it.

The conservatives don’t want it.

On top of that, it’s become increasingly clear to me over the last few years that the bulk of the World’s popoulation quite simply does not get exercised about this sort of stuff.

Whatever happens happens and you move onto the next game.

I would think that is a great way to go about things – if I honestly believed that all teams are affected equally in such matters – but I know that’s not the case – especially when we’re talking about the WC.

ALthough I do disagree with the video replays

I believe that Football can take advantages at natural breaks of play in the game to stamp out errors by referees.

When there’s a goal scored or if there’s a penalty given. A video referee can easily decide to overturn the decision without wasting much time as there is already a stoppage of play. Give the video referee a maximum of 60 seconds to overturn the decision looking at replays can get rid of any major mistakes and we wouldn’t slow the game down.

On a final note, I am part of the rest of the world that sees absolutely nothing wrong with that happened. If you take away the emotions and weight riding on the match, its just another handball in a football match. 99 times out of 100 the referee or the linesman spot it, but every now and then they won’t. I feel sorry for Ireland, but I completely agree with Roy Keane’s comments. They should have defended the set piece better, and taken one of their many chances in either leg.