Ireland blasts Henry as W. Cup dreams crushed

Angry Ireland blasted Thierry Henry as “Le Cheat” on Thursday and called for a replay, after the French football skipper helped knock the national team out of the World Cup with a clear handball.

Questions were asked in parliament after the incident in Paris Wednesday night, when Henry’s hand seemed to control the ball before his pass let William Gallas head in an extra-time goal, giving France a 2-1 aggregate win.

Justice Minister Dermot Ahern said FIFA should order a re-match. “They probably won’t grant it as we are minnows in world football but let’s put them on the spot,” he told RTE state radio.

“It’s the least we owe the thousands of devastated young fans around the country. Otherwise, if that result remains, it reinforces the view that if you cheat, you will win.”

In the disputed incident, Gallas scored from close range in the first extra-time period, after a pass from Henry who had blatantly handled the ball a fraction of a second earlier.

Immediate Irish protests were waved away by Swedish referee Martin Hansson, and after the match a relieved France coach Raymond Domenech would not get drawn on the issue.

Ireland’s assistant coach Liam Brady described the handball incident as “crazy” and called for a replay.

“This has got to go to the French federation and it has got to go to FIFA. If we are going to have integrity and dignity in the world game, the game should be re-played.

“And we will go to Paris and play it. May the best team win,” he told RTE. “If the game is going to survive it has got to be an equal playing field.”

Ireland’s press were unanimous. “We were robbed” said the Irish Star, “Le Cheat” added the Irish Mirror, while the Irish Sun splashed with the “Hand of the Frog” — a play on Diego Maradona’s 1986 “Hand of God” goal over England.

The Irish Independent said the team was “cheated” out of the World Cup finals. “Daylight Robbery” said the Irish Examiner, adding that it demonstrated again the need to use video technology for disputed incidents in matches.

A Facebook page entitled “We Irish hate Thierry Henry (the cheat)” also drew hundreds of comments — some of them unprintable — including a call for an Irish boycott of French goods.

“I would say croissant sales will slump today,” said one contributor to the social networking site page.

One financial expert said Ireland’s failure to make next summer’s World Cup finals will cost the already recession-bound Irish economy millions of euros.

“What we saw happen yesterday was not only a blow to the Ireland team in terms of the World Cup but also to the Irish economy at a time when it has already taken a major blow,” said Henk Potts of Barclays Stockbrokers.

Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen issued a statement congratulating the national team on its “courageous performance,” but made no mention of the handball controversy.

Deputy Prime Minister Mary Coughlan, standing in for Cowen in the Dail, resisted opposition calls for more action, but in a sometimes lighthearted debate agreed that Dublin had a right to feel aggrieved.

“Certainly if I put a motion to the house that we in Dail Eireann (the Irish parliament) look for a replay I would say it would be ‘aon guth'” — Gaelic for “one voice” or consensus, she said.

Irish football veteran David O’Leary, who played for Ireland in the 1990 World Cup, refused to blame the referee, saying he had had an otherwise “excellent” game.

“Thierry Henry is a lovely lad and he likes to be liked and he’ll be in a very embarrassing position now because he wants to play the game in a certain way,” he told BBC radio.