Eight out of 10 French give thumbs down to France team

France’s controversial qualification for the 2010 World Cup has hit a sour note with the French public, with over eight out of 10 people disapproving according to a poll televised on France 2.

France beat the Republic of Ireland 2-1 on aggregate over two legs of a qualifying playoff last Wednesday however a blatant double handball by French captain Thierry Henry proved decisive in the team going to the World Cup.

In an online poll in which 1003 people representative of the country’s demographics were asked on November 20 and 21 several questions about the qualification, eight out of 10 said the team’s qualification was “undeserved”.

Even worse, 88 percent of those polled said that Henry “was wrong” to have controlled the ball with his hand, which led to France scoring the goal that tied the game in extra time and gave them an aggregate victory.

France coach Raymond Domenech, whose job has been in the balance several times in the past two years, was also given short shrift. Seventy-one percent of people “interested in football” said Domenech should be relieved of his duties.

After his double handball Henry passed to William Gallas, who levelled the scores at 1-1 at the Stade de France on Wednesday, thus sending the Republic crashing out.

Henry admitted the blatant error, but stopped short of calling it cheating. He, and the rest of the French delegation, blamed the referee, Sweden’s Martin Hansson, for not spotting the infraction.