Henry's Handball Moment (Exclusive to Titan Network by L'Equipe) - Sina Sports: In the second leg of the World Cup qualifier between France and Ireland, within the 90 minutes of regular play, Ireland managed a 1-0 victory over France thanks to Robbie Keane's goal. This resulted in a 1-1 aggregate score over the two legs, necessitating extra time to determine the winner.
In the 13th minute of extra time, France scored a somewhat dishonorable goal. Although this was a crucial goal that secured France's place in the World Cup, it was a controversial goal that was hard for every Irish fan and every true football enthusiast to accept.
At that moment, France took a midfield free kick. After the ball bounced in the penalty area, it reached Henry. Henry first touched the ball with his hand and then used his hand again to control it. After these two very obvious instances of handling the ball, Henry quickly sent a cross with his right foot, and Arsenal defender William Gallas headed the ball into an empty net.
Despite Irish goalkeeper Shay Given rushing to referee Thomas Hansen to loudly point out Henry's handball, Hansen still ruled the goal valid. Given helplessly complained to the linesman but received no support. Notably, after Gallas scored, his face did not show much excitement as he had clearly seen Henry's handball; Henry initially looked tense, but upon seeing Hansen point towards the center circle indicating the goal was valid, he immediately threw up his arms in celebration.
This handball naturally reminded people of Diego Maradona's famous "Hand of God" in the 1986 World Cup. However, objectively speaking, Henry's "Hand of God" was more malicious than Maradona's. Because Maradona's "Hand of God" was due to his short stature—if Maradona were tall enough, he might not have resorted to using his hand to score against England. But in the crucial extra time of the World Cup playoff, Henry twice used his hand to control the ball and assist Gallas in scoring, and incredibly, the referee let it go unnoticed, which many neutral fans found hard to accept.
However, the game continued, and so did Henry's handballs. In the 110th minute, Henry committed another handball while controlling the ball in midfield and walked away expressionless. In the 120th minute, Anelka also handled the ball, but this time Hansen did not overlook it.
After the aggregate scores were level following the home and away regular times, France barely advanced thanks to Henry's highly controversial handball. Without this goal, France would have faced greater pressure in a penalty shootout at home, especially since Ireland's goalkeeper Given is renowned for his penalty-saving skills in the Premier League. At that point, it would have been uncertain who would emerge victorious. The runner-up from the previous World Cup, France, struggled to secure their spot in South Africa through a highly contentious goal. What exactly has Domenech's French team been doing in the last three and a half years?
Although France qualified for the World Cup, they may not win the applause of neutral fans because Henry's deliberate handball completely violated the spirit of fair play. Compared to Argentina's slightly lucky full victories in the final moments of their last two qualifiers, France seemed even less deserving of qualification. The Gauls are the only team among the 32 qualifiers that did not defeat their opponents on merit but instead qualified through a handball. France's performance did not earn the support of their compatriots, as commentators from France's TF1 immediately pointed out that Henry's handball was simply a disgrace to France.
After the match, teammates and coaches came to embrace and console Henry, whose face showed no joy. Perhaps exhausted from giving his all on the pitch, Henry then sat down on the field, exchanged a few words with former Manchester City captain Richard Dunne, and subsequently lowered his usually proud head. When all was said and done, who knows where Trapattoni and his Irish national team will be when Henry is preparing for the World Cup in training camp next year? By the time of the next World Cup, Given will be 38, Robbie Keane 34, and O'Shea 33—will there be a next one for them?
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