henry was wrong but he remains a class act

[Gamma]

Thierry Henry considered quitting over handball outcry

By Soccernet staff




November 23, 2009

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Thierry Henry has claimed that the vitriolic response to his handball against Republic of Ireland led him to consider his future at international level.

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Thierry Henry commits his famous handball



Henry was widely criticised last week when his clear handling of the ball allowed the striker to set up William Gallas for the goal that took France to the World Cup finals at the expense of Giovanni Trapattoni's side.
Unflattering comparisons were drawn between Henry and Diego Maradona, who famously produced his 'Hand of God' moment against England at the 1986 World Cup, while commentators speculated whether his legacy would be forever sullied.
Henry - who issued a statement on Friday saying a replay would be the fairest way to settle the row, after FIFA had ruled out such a scenario - feels that the French Football Federation (FFF) did not offer him enough support and considered exiling himself from the finals following outcry across Europe.
"Oh yes," Henry told L'Equipe. "Friday, when it all went too far, I was very worked up. It's not the first time (that I thought about retiring).
"After the 2006 World Cup, I thought about it, but it was too early. After Euro 2008, too, but it wasn't the right moment. There was a generation that needed me.
"Despite everything that has just happened and the fact that I felt let down, I will not let my country down.
"The day after the match, and the day after that, I felt alone, really alone. It was only after I issued my statement that the people from the French Federation got in touch."
Henry did, however, concede that he should not have celebrated the goal so wildly as Ireland's hopes of a famous result in the play-offs were dashed in such controversial fashion. He said: "I shouldn't have done that but, frankly, it was uncontrollable, after all we had been through."
After Henry admitted a replay would be the fairest way to settle the game, Ireland captain Robbie Keane praised the striker and called on the FFF to make their own representations to FIFA. However, they refused to do so and the result stands.
Henry insists that his support for a replay existed before he learnt that FIFA had ruled out the possibility of staging another game and denies that his statement was merely an exercise in PR.
The striker said: "We worked on this release with my lawyer without knowledge that the international federation would meet the same day on the subject."

[Mosiah]

I feel sorry for him because I always thought he was a class act. And he still is, just that he cheated on that day.

Retire? Up to you, son! But maybe you should stick around for the WC and take your boos.

[Sir X]

Hands off Henry: other players and fans have done worsetweetmeme_url = 'http://www.thisisanfield.com/2009/11/23/hands-off-henry-other-players-and-fans-have-done-worse/';tweetmeme_source = 'thisisanfield';
Stephen Eddie discusses the reaction to Thierry Henry's handball for France against Ireland last week.
Written by Stephen Eddie on November 23rd, 2009 6 Comments
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Stephen Eddie is a neutral football fan and freelance journalist currently working in London. Visit his blog at Pulling Shapes.
David Ngog has a lot to thank Thierry Henry for, and not just the obvious influence in playing style as demonstrated by his goal against Manchester United. If we remember just two weeks ago, Ngog was the one being called cheat in capital letters, who apparently represented everything that is wrong about the ‘modern game’. Of all the major columnists and pundits who commented on Henry’s handball assist against Ireland, only Martin Samuel of the Daily Mail appeared capable of remembering any example of cheating before Henry and rightly reminded us of Ngog’s dive to win a penalty against Birmingham.

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Ngog was branded a cheat but pundits mostly said he’d feel “embarrassed” about the dive – nothing compared to the press Henry received last week. On Thursday and Friday some newspapers had the story on its front and back pages, calling the incident the ‘Hand of Frog’ and ‘Hand of Gaul’ – headlines charged up by a week of anti-European stories – while Henry was called repulsive and the handball ‘sickening’. That’s the kind of language normally reserved for stories about criminals not football matches. Former Wigan striker Marlon King – currently serving an 18-month prison sentence for ABH and sexual assault – got lighter treatment and less coverage.

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Even keeping to incidents on the pitch, there has been worse behaviour than Henry’s handball. The France captain’s former Arsenal teammate Emmanuel Adebayor took his studs to Robin van Persie’s face when Manchester City played Arsenal at Eastlands this season. Adebayor rightly served a three-match ban but I don’t recall receiving the character assassination than Henry has. Michael Calvin in the Mirror said Henry “has been exposed as manipulative and insincere”, while Gavin Brown in the Metro wrote that Henry lacks credibility and is an ineffective player. This would be the ineffective Henry of Barcelona who’s scored or set up 69 goals in 96 games for the Spanish and European champions. The ineffective Henry of France who’s scored more goals for his country than any player has for England. The ineffective, repulsive, cheating Henry who does promotion work for Unicef and launched the 2005 Stand Up, Speak Up anti-racism campaign with Nike (remember those black and white rubber wristbands?). It would be a great shame if Barcelona came to England for a Champions League game and Henry’s contribution to football England was forgotten and replaced by boos.
While the majority of comments on Henry’s handball were self-righteous, ‘I-would-have-owned-up’ nonsense, few were as hypocritical as Tony Cascarino’s in The Times. The former Ireland striker wrote: “Don’t think I’m ducking the question when I say that it would never have been an issue for me – because I wasn’t a cheat… it would never have occurred to me to stick out my hand and guide it back into my control. I wasn’t that devious.” Cascarino found out he didn’t qualify to play for the Irish national team in 1996 but did not retire from international football until 1999 or reveal the fact until the publication of his autobiography in 2005, when he wrote: “I was a fraud. A fake Irishman.”

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Before putting Henry’s name next to ‘cheat’ in the dictionary or saying Fifa should sanction the FAI’s desired replay of France v Ireland – despite it requiring a overhauling of Fifa laws and setting a ridiculous precedent (can you imagine how many appeals for replays would be lodged by Premier League managers if that was allowed?) – we should remember the behaviour of players and fans of our own teams. Ngog’s dive against Birmingham was just as much an attempt to gain unfair advantage for his team, while Steven ‘he’s big and he’s ****************ing hard’ Gerrard has also fallen over rather easily in the past (incidents versus Sheffield United and Aston Villa in 2007 come to mind). Every team has players that cheat and every player is capable of cheating, but it is the repeat offenders that should be brought to task and it’s difficult to call Henry one of those.
Equally, before we in the stands, pubs and armchairs get all high and mighty, Henry’s behaviour was certainly not worse than that of some fans this year: Arsenal fans aiming a chair at Adebayor injured a City of Manchester Stadium steward; Rangers are struggling to deal with a loud minority of travelling trouble-makers; groups of Manchester United and Liverpool supporters still chant about the most tragic moments in each other’s history; and Fifa are investigating after large rocks were thrown through the windows of the Algerian team bus in Cairo last Wednesday. Egypt has threatened to withdraw from international football for two years and government officials have been withdrawn from both countries following the violence at both legs of the playoff.
Thierry Henry cheating to qualify for the World Cup is wrong but the world of football’s selective memory and lack of perspective is worse.
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#1
me
Posted on November 23, 2009 @ 10:13 am i agree with you but just touching on that subject. the incidents between algeria and egypt are far more serious and shocking to what you are really hearing at the moment. wait few days and see.

REPLY

#2
Aiyic
Posted on November 23, 2009 @ 10:40 am Completely agree with the author. It was a handball, in a football game, which unfortunately resulting in a goal two touches later. Sure, the weight of what was at stake amplified the ‘crime’, but the rules of the game don’t (and should never) discriminate between the likes of this game, and a 1st-round FA Cup tie; it’s all relative.
It was completely embarrassing to see pictures of Ireland fans outside the French Embassy in Dublin – getagrip lads, ffs! John Delaney’s (FAI pres) sanctimoniously transparent appeals on the evening news, rang hollow in his glorious monotone – the complete epitome of a ’suit’ in football.
Yes, cheating is endemic in football, but Henry’s handball is far from being the pinnacle of such moments. FIFA will NEVER sanction video-reffing if left to their own devices. Football are answerable to FIFA; have no welly in forming FIFA’s standpoints. So who are FIFA answerable to in order for them to make the change? Us. You and me i.e. people-power. Until we the fans demand it, it will never happen. And protests won’t work either. It will only happen when we see behind FIFA’s curtain – hands cupped beneath the cash-funnel. Arrange a collective ‘Non Attendance Day’, and this includes watching on the telly. Sponsors will put pressure on FIFA if their audience evaporates – so no advertising revenue for fat-cats.
This is the only way – so leave Thierry Henry alone. He only instinctively acted as the game stands.

REPLY

#3
Alan
Posted on November 23, 2009 @ 10:54 am I hope France win the World Cup, by Beating England/Brazil/Germany/Italy in the final. I think then we’d see the “get over it” brigade come out and cry foul! Only then would we finally see some proper moves to introduce the video ref.

REPLY

#4
Ted
Posted on November 23, 2009 @ 11:29 am I couldn’t agree more. The “hysteria” surrounding Henry’s handball was ridiculous, however, I cannot begin to imagine how much worse it would have been should that have happened against England.

REPLY

#5
pensterx
Posted on November 23, 2009 @ 1:40 pm Maradona’s name is conspicuous by its absence. The reaction would have been much different if England had been involved, especially as England have more power in football.
Henry blew it. I’ve mentioned our own Robbie Fowler putting up his hand and saying it wasn’t a penalty. Henry could have at least done that. It may not have changed the outcome but it would have earned him respect … as it is he has lost respect.

REPLY

#6
Jonathan 'The Bounce' McCririe
Posted on November 23, 2009 @ 1:44 pm I feel sorry for the lad, players are literally jumping in the air every week in hope they get a penalty, regardless of contact or not…the lad made a mistake, dont know why he’s getting so much stick!…Not as if the previous captain didnt do something worse!.or even a fellow country man kicked someone in the face!

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[Mosiah]

Unnu see di bokkle a reach Ade? Unnu tink a we one fling bokkle?!

[Mosiah]

Former Wigan striker Marlon King – currently serving an 18-month prison sentence for ABH and sexual assault – got lighter treatment and less coverage.

King was punished. Silly comparison.

[Sir X]

Dont worry Mo ,other players scared of the media backlash will resist and desist and Henry will be the last one to exhibit that instinctive reflex to win.

[OJ]

some of us act as if we don't even cheat in scrimmage.. goal score and yu talk bout it go over post and tek post and mash up game....

[Peter R]

Mo, that is not the point; he is talking about the level of character assassination meted out against Henry by the media, (who committed as far as I am concerned one of any number of infractions that a player can possibly commit) versus that meted out against a convicted batterer.

And that could be more detrimental to his career than an 18-month jail term.

[Sir X]

This self righteous BS by MO and the Irish is laughable, what about calling for the ball when deflected for a corner , throw etc when they know it is against them , what about clear fouls , I mean , cheating as they say is a part of the game .

Its the refs job to deal with the abusers.Give T14 credit for saying sorry , but we all know a suh it guh.

I am dying to see the day when a man fouls a man in the 18 and hold his hand up for a red /penalty against his team.

Cho mek Mo & the Irish gwaaan.

[Mosiah]

It shouldn't be more detrimental.

[Karl]

This self righteous BS by MO and the Irish is laughable, what about calling for the ball when deflected for a corner , throw etc when they know it is against them , what about clear fouls , I mean , cheating as they say is a part of the game .

Its the refs job to deal with the abusers.Give T14 credit for saying sorry , but we all know a suh it guh.

I am dying to see the day when a man fouls a man in the 18 and hold his hand up for a red /penalty against his team.

Cho mek Mo & the Irish gwaaan.

A waan tell dat di man who ole hup im hand wudda dead! As far as football his concerned even the most straight laced of a person his a damn tief!

...an dat's ah fact!

Mo an haul dis res a mek di ole worl kno seh dem false an hah e-diat!
certainly e-diat fi tick seh di res of wi nuh watch football ebry day han innah ebry match si tiefin gwaan!

[Mosiah]

huh?!!?

[Karl]

huh?!!?

Have you ever seen a match wherein at least one player has commited a foul, the ref does not call it and the player holds up his hand...stops playing and says my bad?

Well would you call knowingly infringing the law and not owning up, tiefry?

Have you ever seen a match where at least once the ball goes in touch off a player and that same player or the teammates of the player claim "our ball"?

Well would that knowingly claiming the ball when he or his teammates know it was not "theirs" tiefry?

...as to kicking an opponent and not immediately owning up as play goes on...that rampant form of tiefry, like the two previous examples has become accepted tiefry!

...and it goes on and on - The fact is our beloved game in subtle and not so subtle ways, include tiefin! ...and we all have ggrown accustomed to accepting that!

Suh yuh cyaan huh till yuh dead...if a player commits a foul in the penalty-area that he knows is a penal offense - No way on God's Earth would you see that player holding up his hand and saying to the ref, PENALTY ref, my bad!

...and we know if a player ever dares play 'goody-goody' the fans of his team would 'nyam im'!

Suh gwaan, "huh"!

[Mosiah]

is di patois, or whatever di hell dat was, dat a coulden undastan.

mi dun talk bout di Henry ting, but mek mi say it again - dis cheating wuss dan many odda cheating. Had he dun di very same ting in an FA Cup final, it woulda bad and nuh suh bad!

[Plush]

I can't say that I never expected this from Henry. He's always been a cheat so this is nothing new. I remember the days he use to play at Arsenal and look to shoot on a freekick when the wall was being setup and the keeper is out of place. Henry was never about fairplay and was always looking to cheat one in...I do think he is a very good player but is cheating took away any respect I had for him