Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – International football federation Fifa has dashed Irish hopes for a 2010 World Cup qualifying re-match, saying in a brief statement that it had replied to a request for a re-match from the Football Association of Ireland: “In the reply, Fifa states that the result of the match cannot be changed and the match cannot be replayed. As is clearly mentioned in the Laws of the Game, during matches, decisions are taken by the referee and these decisions are final.”
Ireland put in the request after France won Wednesday 2-1 in extra-time when France captain Thierry Henry used his hand to stop the ball from going out of play.
Paris, France (GenevaLunch) - Thierry Henry handed France their ticket to the 2010 World Cup, literally, as he controlled the ball with his hand before passing it to William Gallas to score the equalizing goal against Ireland in their play-off match. Somehow the referee and linesman failed to see the fault, which was clearly deliberate. Ireland dominated the match in the first half and took the lead with a goal by Robbie Keane and could have easily gone further ahead before they were hit by the French version of the “hand of God.”
In the other games Algeria qualified at the expense of Egypt, Greece beat Ukraine and Portugal won both games against Bosnia-Herzegovenia. The surprise of the evening was Russia being eliminated by Slovenia.
Links to other sites: Fifa, Guardian, Irish Times
