So,� France made it to the World Cup at the expense of the Republic of Ireland. Expected? Maybe. Still, the way Les Blues made it through is� far more than questionable.

For those of you who were hibernating during the past week and somehow don't know how France qualified, Thierry Henry handled the ball 13� minutes into extra time and passed it to William Gallas, who headed the� controversial goal allowing� France to reach next year's finals with a 2-1 win on aggregate.

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Latest development in the already long running Thierry Henry handball incident (or "la main de dieu" as it's being called by some) is that Henry himself thinks a replay is a good idea:

"The fairest solution would be to replay the game but it is not in my control," said the Barcelona striker.

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A bit of conjecture here. The injury news is looking a bit more positive but that might not be what could be worrying Arsene Wenger now.

He has to get William Gallas and Bacary Sagna to refocus on club football after the Ireland France odyssey. Gallas of course was one of the principal characters in the France farce and might be in for some stick with fans with Irish national players in their club like City and Aston Villa.

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Pocas veces un jugador se ha hecho tan famoso por un gol que hizo otro compañero. El gol que metió a Francia en Sudáfrica 2010 lo convirtió William Gallas, pero el autor intelectual fue Thierry Henry, que utilizó su brazo y su mano para acomodar un balón indomable y dar el pase a su compañero. Click to continue reading...

Since Thierry Henry's handball on Wednesday, the former Arsenal striker's reaction has gone from arrogance, to indifference to being contrite. From where I sit, this simply proves that Henry is a Public Relations driven phony. He's cultivated an image for over a decade in conjunction with his handlers and now sees the possibility it can all come undone.

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Image via Wikipedia The Irish Justice Minister had already asked Football's Highest Governing Body, FIFA for a replay match for the World Cup qualification after the controversial incident of Thierry Henry handling the ball in the Irish penalty zone before passing the ball to teammate William Gallas who headed home. Click to continue reading...

In the wake of Ireland's heartbreaking aggregate defeat to France, where Thierry Henry's handballed assist for William Gallas to score an equaliser in extra time denied a team who had performed magnificently to haul themselves level, we pay tribute to five of the greatest footballing heartbreakers in recent memory.

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The Football Association of Ireland or FAI has officially submitted a request to replay the 2nd leg of the UEFA 2010 World Cup Qualifying Playoffs against France on Wednesday, November 18, 2009. The match ended in controversy as France scored in extra time on a goal from William Gallas. Thierry Henry clearly had a handball before passing to Gallas for the goal but it wasn't called by the referee.

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The ball rebounded to Thierry Henry's hand, first once and then again. He scooped it gently, and let it fall to his feet. He made a controlled pass to his teammate William Gallas, who scored a much-needed goal against Ireland. The referee didn't call the handballs (clearly visible in recordings of the match). Click to continue reading...

by FRANCO PANIZO

Thierry Henry's handball heard around the world helped secure France's passage to the 2010 World Cup, but the French may not be through to South Africa yet.

The Irish federation has appealed Wednesday's night 1-1 result (2-1 aggregate advantage for France), and is demanding that France replay the second leg of the playoff.

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by FRANCO PANIZO

Thierry Henry's handball heard around the world helped secure France's passage to the 2010 World Cup, but the French may not be through to South Africa yet.

The Irish federation has appealed Wednesday's night 1-1 result (2-1 aggregate advantage for France), and is demanding that France replay the second leg of the playoff.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC-pF3OHY1c

Following the controversial decision to allow France's goal to stand as Thierry Henry clearly handled the ball prior to assisting William Gallas, it is only normal to have increased complaints and ever growing displeasure at the level of refereeing.

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France qualified for the World Cup in South Africa in the summer thanks to a William Gallas header against Ireland in Paris. With French supporters everywhere celebrating, replays showed in the build-up to the goal, Thierry Henry hand-balling the ball onto his foot to cross. Of course, that is against the rules and it is very unfortunate that he should have done that however, would we be complaining if Kevin Doyle had done it for Richard Dunne to score?

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Okay okay, I guess I have to write something about this Thierry Henry hand ball or something. Here is the obligatory (and slightly sarcastic) background info already reported: The World Cup playoffs are seeded, seemingly hurting the minnows like Republic of Ireland. Then, Ireland are given an away game in Paris for the second leg, presumably giving them yet another disadvantage.

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Thierry Henry the Basketball Player Thierry Henry the Yo Yo Expert Click to continue reading...

Bad Thierry Henry. You cheated and you are the hero of all of France for it. Somewhere Michel Platini is dancing because you did it. Somewhere Sepp Blatter and the rest of FIFA are doing an Arsene Wegner impression. In Ireland your face will end up on dart boards and was the reason that children cried themselves to sleep last night. Click to continue reading...

Image via Wikipedia It's a shock and disbelief for many of the supporters and Irish fans where Ireland's hopes were dashed after the equalizer by William Gallas. Before crossing the ball Thierry Henry was seen to handle the ball twice which was not observed by the sideline officials and resulted in the equalizer. Click to continue reading...

Seems like a whole lot of past and present Arsenal connections have played or are playing a very influential part in the France vs Ireland match and its aftermath.

The latest is Liam Brady calling FIFA for a replay which he says would be only fair given that it was a clear handball by Thierry Henry that set up William Gallas equalizer.

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Image via Wikipedia The presence of Giovanni Trapattoni continued to grow even at the Stadio de France and things were turning to be dramatic during the first half as Ireland scored in about the 32nd minute to show that they were in the groove and it reflected the score line predicted by Trapattoni the earlier [. Click to continue reading...

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is eyeing Borussia Dortmund defender Neven Subotic.
The Daily Mail says Wenger could step up his pursuit of Subotic amid fears William Gallas could leave Arsenal for nothing in the summer.
Frenchman Gallas is out of contract at the end of the season and although negotiations are due to start about a new one-year deal, there has been talk the 32-year-old is keen to move abroad. Click to continue reading...

Arsenal defender William Gallas insists he did not see France teammate Thierry Henry handle the ball ahead of him poking home France's equaliser against the Republic of Ireland.
Barcelona striker Henry clearly handled the ball before setting up his former Arsenal team-mate William Gallas to head Les Bleus into the finals in South Africa next summer. Click to continue reading...

France captain Thierry Henry admitted he had handled the ball in the build-up to a controversial goal that sent France to the World Cup at the expense of Ireland on Wednesday.

Talk about Maradona's� Hand of God, for the Boys from Ireland, this tragedy at the Stade de France will now be known as Henry's Le Hand of God.

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It's not strictly Arsenal-related, I know, but by now I'm sure you've all seen the controversial goal which put France into the 2010 World Cup.

If you haven't: there was a cross into the box which fizzed past the far post, and looked like it was headed over the touchline for a goal kick. But off one hop, it hit the arm of Thierry Henry, and deflected back into play in a perfect spot for him to center it directly into the path of the oncoming William Gallas, who headed home the winning goal.

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The Hand of the Frog
Thanks to the 50 + of you who participated in our World Cup Playoff Prediction Contest sponsored by Soccer Pro, and I'm pleased to announce our winners...
1st Place: Jon (wins a team jacket of his choice from Soccer Pro!)2nd Place: Daniel (wins an official World Cup replica ball! Click to continue reading...

Thierry Henry certainly isn't making any Irish eyes smile tonight.

Ireland is fuming after Henry admittedly handled a ball that he immediately played to William Gallas who put it in the net to tie Ireland at 1-1 and send France into the World Cup virtue of a 2-1 aggregate victory.

Here's a video of Henry's incident:

In my book, it's a complete shame that Ireland failed to make the World Cup because of such an obvious hand ball.

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A controversial goal in extra-time by defender William Gallas sent France to next year's World Cup with a 2-1 aggregate play-off win over Ireland. Click to continue reading...

A controversial goal in extra-time by defender William Gallas sent France to next year's World Cup with a 2-1 aggregate play-off win over Ireland.

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by TRAVIS CLARK

After three years of World Cup qualifying, the 32-team tournament field is set for next summer. Attention now turns to the December 4 draw in Cape Town, when the 32 nation field will learn their fate.

It was a hectic day across several continents as the final six spots were sewn up.

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by TRAVIS CLARK

After three years of World Cup qualifying, the 32-team tournament field is set for next summer. Attention now turns to the December 4 draw in Cape Town, when the 32 nation field will learn their fate.

It was a hectic day across several continents as the final six spots were sewn up.

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UEFA and FIFA both got their wishes tonight. France and Portugal both will be in South Africa next summer. But the Republic of Ireland were left fuming as Thierry Henry's handball earned France a 1-1 draw and a trip to South Africa.

France had won the first leg 1-0 in Dublin on Saturday, but Ireland when Robbie Keane scored just after the half-hour mark at the Stade de France, the tie was level.

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París, 18 nov (PL) En una polémica jugada en tiempo extra el defensor William Gallas le dio a Francia hoy la clasificación para el Mundial de Suráfrica-2010, tras imponerse 2-1 a Irlanda en partido de la repesca europea.
En la factura del dudoso gol marcado por Gallas, intervino una mano "evidente" del capitán Thierry Henry que habilitó al defensa casi en la línea de meta para marcar el 1-1 definitivo a los 103 minutos del encuentro disputado en el Stade de France. Click to continue reading...

Algeria, Greece, Portugal and Slovenia all won their playoffs and qualified for the World Cup today. Uruguay vs Costa Rica is happening as I type. But there's one story that will be dominating the World Cup playoff headlines, and I think you already know what it is: Thierry Henry's handball for France vs Ireland.

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You've got to feel sorry for the Republic of Ireland after last nights match where they were cruelly knocked out of the World Cup 2010 qualifiers thanks to a Thierry Henry handball.

Ireland went into the 2nd leg of the game 1-0 behind from a Nicolas Anelka goal in the first leg played at home last week, and went level in tonights game through Robbie Keane.

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The original headline for this piece was going to be '...And Then There Was One' as in there's only one place left in the finals: congratulations to Algeria, France, Greece, Portugal and Slovenia, all of whom have qualified before.

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It will be talked about for a long time: a World Cup berth "handed" to France. Thierry's Henry helping hand assist (and a blown offside call) teed up William Gallas for the extra time clincher to leave Ireland feeling backhanded...... but that was hardly the only drama on hand.Earlier, Algeria, Greece and Slovenia procured invites to South Africa via upsets, with Portugal closing out a tidy sweep Click to continue reading...