Henry Calls For Replay
Maybe the guy isnt that bad afterall.
Thierry Henry says Replay would be the "Fairest Solution"
Henry admits replay would be fair
Henry prevented the ball going out of play with his hand
Under-fire France striker Thierry Henry believes a replay of the World Cup play-off with the Republic of Ireland would "be the fairest solution".
The Republic appealed to have the match replayed after an Henry handball helped France to a 2-1 aggregate victory.
But their plea was rejected by Fifa, while the French Football Federation (FFF) will not advocate a rematch.
Henry said: "Of course the fairest solution would be to replay the game but it is not in my control."
Irish skipper Robbie Keane welcomed Henry's comments and called on the FFF to agree to a rematch.
Keane said: "On behalf of the Republic of Ireland players, I would like to thank Thierry Henry for his statement this afternoon that in his opinion a replay would be the fairest option.
"As captain of the French team, to make such a statement took courage and honour, and all of us recognise that.
"As captain of the Republic of Ireland team, I would also be happy for a replay to happen in the interest of fair play so that whichever team qualifies, can do so with their heads held high.
"We can only hope that the French Football Federation might accept the wishes of both captains in the best interests of the game."
With the tie finely poised at 1-1 in the first half of extra-time, Barcelona striker Henry twice handled a long ball into the area before squaring for William Gallas to bundle home the eventual winner.
The incident has attracted mass news coverage across Europe, but Henry - who admitted the handball immediately after the match - waited until Friday before releasing a statement.
"Naturally I feel embarrassed at the way that we won and feel extremely sorry for the Irish who definitely deserve to be in South Africa," said the 32-year-old.
"There is little more I can do apart from admit that the ball had contact with my hand leading up to our equalising goal and I feel very sorry for the Irish."
Lineker: 'Henry tainted like Maradona'
And the former Arsenal forward insisted he was not a "cheat", claiming his handling of the ball was "instinctive".
"I have said at the time and I will say again that yes I handled the ball. I am not a cheat and never have been. It was an instinctive reaction to a ball that was coming extremely fast in a crowded penalty area," he said.
"As a footballer you do not have the luxury of the television to slow the pace of the ball down 100 times to be able to make a conscious decision. People are viewing a slow motion version of what happened and not what I or any other footballer faces in the game.
"If people look at it in full speed you will see that it was an instinctive reaction.
"It is impossible to be anything other than that. I have never denied that the ball was controlled with my hand. I told the Irish players, the referee and the media this after the game."
Henry's former manager Arsene Wenger echoed the frontman's thoughts, adding that the incident furthered the case for video technology to be used in future.
"Football accepts that a billion people see it, one guy doesn't see it, and yet it is the one who prevails. It cannot work," said the Gunners boss.
"At the game, I saw the referee giving a goal knowing that something was wrong and that is really sad.
"In the end, he gave a goal already knowing that it wasn't a goal. We cannot accept that in our sport and you have to do something about it. The referee didn't see it, I can understand that, the linesman didn't see it, but they couldn't get any help.
"For the sense of justice it is quite embarrassing to see. I think even France is embarrassed. We didn't play well at all and we won the game and won the qualification with a goal that was not a goal."
And Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson also advocated the use of video technology to resolve such issues.
"The stance is that Fifa prefers human decision-making rather than technology decision-making and until they change their mind there is nothing you can do about it - you have to convince them, nobody else," said the Scot.
"It is not a matter of asking every player and manager in the world their opinion because they will all share the same one, as I do myself, that technology can play a part and can help referees in a situation like the other night."
