WCQ

[wasup]

It is funny the way people look at the Uruguay - Costa Rica games . Uruguay dominated both games . Uruguay should have won the first leg 2-0 . In Montevideo they always make the fans suffer , they miss too many chances !!! Costa Rica had 2 chances the whole game , Uruguay at least 7 . Suarez and Forlan Have to finish alot better , they looked very nervous on all of their chances. Yes they had a huge amount of pressure. Every playoff game was close .If you look at all the highlights of every World Cup Playoff game , you would not believe all the missed chances from every game .

[nolbertos]

Wow..Ireland were totally robbed, but I doubt FIFA will do anything...since Platini is UEFA President and Blatter doesn't want to get too political with UEFA, but still, I believe soccer should have video replay to protest calls. Regarding that Costa Rica - Uruguay match, I honestly say that CONCACAF is still weak as hell. Hell even Peru "C" team vs Honduras "A/B" in yesterday's friendly was Peru, dominating half the match and still winning. Just shows you that qualifying outta CONMEBOL is brutal. It should've been Costa Rica in the World Cup, rather than Honduras, as the Ticos were to me more superior than the catrachos, but still blew there chances with minutes left in the US game. I predict Mexico and the US only will get to the Round of 16, and all of the CONMEBOL countries will make it to the Round of 16 too. I honestly wish that the US, Canada and Mexico gang up against Jack Warner and just join CONMEBOL, cuz it would make an interesting WCQ tournament and club championships in the Copa Libertadores and Sudamericana would better benefit the USA and Canada in the long run.

[terpfan68]

Well sports fans take a look at what that "famous" Irish writer at CBS Sportsline has to say about the France/Ireland brouhaha.

http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/5881996/18402648

Enjoy

[loyola]

I had completly forget about that but FIFA has in the past allowed a game to be replayed after an incorrect call from the ref (Uzbekistan-Barhain in 2005).

The difference was the ref in that 2006 WCQ wrongly applied the rule for an encroachment during a penalty.

BTW, I'm not sure it's entirely fair to blame the ref for this miss. I doubt the best ref in the world would've spotted that hand ball in that crowd of players.

Edit: Am I alone thinking Given could've go after that long ball?

[FCH]

quote:Originally posted by Jeffrey S.

He handled the ball and he admitted he did it, openly and honestly. How is that disgraceful?

Almost every match you see strikers controlling bouncing balls with their arms or hands, some plays get called, others do not. Plenty of legit goals get called back because a control off a chest is deemed to be an upper arm.

Henry is perfectly right to say that the ref let it stand, but folks are wrong to say he should not have even tried to control the ball, because that is against the basic instinct of every player.

As one of the poster boys for the FIFA Fair Play campaign against racism I guess he simply forgot to play fair on the pitch.

[Grizzly]

I don't blame Henry for touching the ball with his hand because it seemed to be an instinct/reaction type of move as opposed to a blatant cheating attempt like Anelka's dive. On the other hand given that he did touch the ball with his hand, the honourable thing would have been to inform the ref of this. It would have been a move that would have brought honour on himself and France for decades as an example of sportsmanship as opposed to the shame of entering the World Cup by cheating which will sully any success they have at the WC and make any failures they have that much worse.

[Soju]

Wow there must be some angry people in Ireland right now. Getting this close and then such a blatant handball. This is like every time Canada's ever been screwed x 10000, we have nothing that comes close to this.

[loyola]

No replay and it seems Roy Keane agree with me about Given on that play.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SPORT/football/11/20/football.fifa.ireland.cowen/index.html

[beachesl]

Biggest NON-surprise of the year.

------------------------

FIFA says no Ireland-France rematch

FIFA ruled out the possibility of replaying the France-Ireland World Cup qualifier on Friday, rejecting an Irish appeal to stage the playoff again after Thierry Henry handled the ball to set up the deciding goal in extra time.

"In the reply, FIFA states that the result of the match cannot be changed and the match cannot be replayed," FIFA said in a statement. "As is clearly mentioned in the Laws of the Game, during matches, decisions are taken by the referee and these decisions are final."

Henry used his left hand to keep the ball from going out of play, then passed to William Gallas, who headed in the decisive goal. At the time of Henry's unpunished handball, the match was 17 minutes from reaching a penalty shootout.

The game at Stade de France ended in a 1-1 draw, enough to put France through to next year's World Cup in South Africa 2-1 on aggregate because the 1998 world champions won the first leg of the playoff in Dublin 1-0.

Henry admitted later that he handled the ball, but Swedish referee Martin Hansson did not spot the infraction.

In Dublin on Friday, the Football Association of Ireland said it received FIFA's reply rejecting a replay. The FAI said its management board would meet to consider the matter later Friday.

Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen said he would raise the issue with French President Nicolas Sarkozy at a meeting of the 27 EU leaders in Brussels.

FIFA did order Uzbekistan and Bahrain to replay a World Cup qualifying match in 2005 following a referee's critical error. However, there is no precedent to order a replay because of second-guessing a referee's judgment on the field of play.

Irish lawmaker Joe McHugh said France should follow the 1999 precedent set by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, a Frenchman who volunteered to replay a match in England's FA Cup after the Gunners won on an unfair goal.

[beachesl]

Crocodile tears...

----------------------------------------------------

Henry embarrassed over handball, says France-Ireland game should be replayed Module body

41 minutes ago

By The Associated Press

LONDON - Thierry Henry denied being a cheat but said Friday the "fairest solution" would be to replay the France-Ireland World Cup playoff that was decided by his hand ball.

Henry set up the deciding goal for William Gallas by controlling the ball with his hand in Wednesday's 1-1 draw at the Stade de France. The goal in extra time gave France a spot in next year's World Cup with a 2-1 aggregate victory over Ireland after two legs of the playoffs.

"Of course the fairest solution would be to replay the game but it is not in my control," Henry said in a a statement.

Earlier Friday, world governing body FIFA rejected a request by the Football Association of Ireland for the game to be replayed.

Henry admitted he handled the ball and felt embarrassed at how France qualified for the World Cup at the expense of Ireland.

"I have said at the time and I will say again that yes I handled the ball," he said in the statement issued to British media. "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."

"I have never denied that the ball was controlled with my hand," Henry said. "I told the Irish players, the referee and the media this after the game."

The Barcelona striker expressed sympathy for the Irish.

"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," he said. "There is little more I can do apart from admit that the ball had contact with my hand leading up to our equalizing goal and I feel very sorry for the Irish," he said.

[Loud Mouth Soup]

Oh, boo-friggin-hoo to Ireland.

Where was the sense of injustice and requests for a replay from, of all sources, the English gutter press when a certain country were awarded a phantom penalty against Georgia?

Oh, right. Nowhere.

And stop blaming Henry. He's admitting it was a handball. He simply played the whistle, and the referee messed it up, not Henry. It's not up to him to make the referees decisions, either.

[amacpher]

quote:Originally posted by beachesl

Crocodile tears...

----------------------------------------------------

Henry embarrassed over handball, says France-Ireland game should be replayed Module body

By The Associated Press

LONDON - Thierry Henry denied being a cheat but said Friday the "fairest solution" would be to replay the France-Ireland World Cup playoff that was decided by his hand ball.

I'm not saying there should be a replay but even if there was, it still wouldn't be "fair". Ireland had already beaten France in Paris 0-1. Not an easy feat. France advantage gained in the first-leg had disappeared so giving it back to them would hardly be fair.

A fair solution would be to either replay just the extra-time in France or play a full 90-minute game at a neutral venue, winner-take-all (like Egypt-Algeria).

[Guest Jeffery S.]

As soon as people try to get into any single detail of this whole affair their arguments for replay or sanction just fall apart. The hysteria is amazing. I honestly think you guys never watch the game, if you have a team to follow you will see absolute BS in your favour and against about 23 times a year. And life goes on.

I mean, it wasn't even as bad as it could have been. Henry did not score with his hand. He did not make the pass for goal with his hand. He controlled it with his hand, but even then it was not even a voluntary control on the first touch. It wasn't murder, or manslaughter, or involuntary manslaughter, it was accessory, he was not the one doing the dirty work. He drove the car. Sanction that. Sanction that yellow card, and nothing more than a yellow card. Sanction it with having to put up with the witch hunting puritans who want to make more of it than it really was.

[amacpher]

quote:Originally posted by Jeffrey S.

As soon as people try to get into any single detail of this whole affair their arguments for replay or sanction just fall apart. The hysteria is amazing. I honestly think you guys never watch the game, if you have a team to follow you will see absolute BS in your favour and against about 23 times a year. And life goes on.

Actually, this was the second football game I watched in my life. The first was this one:

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/the-most-controversial-goals-in-football-1823571.html?action=Popup&ino=6

quote:That's not fair

The fifth round FA Cup tie between Arsenal and Sheffield United in 1999 saw a goal of such controversy that it was decided they would replay the whole match.

With a United player down injured, the ball was put into touch by the Sheffield keeper so he could receive treatment. The usual procedure would be for the opposition to give the ball back from the throw in - but Arsenal had different ideas. The ball was thrown in to Nwankwo Kanu, who instead of passing it back, ran down the line and crossed it to Marc Overmars who slotted home. United were incensed and Arsenal agreed it was unfair and a replay was played - which Arsenal won.

[Eric]

quote:Originally posted by Grizzly

I don't blame Henry for touching the ball with his hand because it seemed to be an instinct/reaction type of move as opposed to a blatant cheating attempt like Anelka's dive. On the other hand given that he did touch the ball with his hand, the honourable thing would have been to inform the ref of this. It would have been a move that would have brought honour on himself and France for decades as an example of sportsmanship as opposed to the shame of entering the World Cup by cheating which will sully any success they have at the WC and make any failures they have that much worse.

LOL, you're kidding right? please name an other example of what you suggest ever happening any where in the world before (with a link please), thank you.

[loyola]

quote:Originally posted by Eric

LOL, you're kidding right? please name an other example of what you suggest ever happening any where in the world before (with a link please), thank you.

I've seen a video of player who goes down in the box and the ref calls a PK. The player went to the ref and told him there was no PK, that fell without being touch by the defender. Ref cancelled the PK.

I don't remember which league it was but this happened in a top league in an eastern europe country.

Edit: here you go, I found it:

http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/romania/fair-play-award-costin-lazar-refuses-a-penalty.html

[Eric]

^ Sorry loyola, it says "this video has been removed by user" lol.....I guess miracles don't last that long.

[amacpher]

There the Di Canio incident too. Slightly different, but still an extreme example of fair play.

But its one thing to do this sort of thing in your average run-of-mill match. Quite another to do it at a pivitol moment in a huge game.

[loyola]

Sorry, I'm at work so Ican't watch videos.

Go on google or youtube and make a search with "Costin Lazar" and you'll find this incident.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costin_Laz%C4%83r

[Eric]

quote:Originally posted by amacpher

But its one thing to do this sort of thing in your average run-of-mill match. Quite another to do it at a pivitol moment in a huge game.

Exactly, if he would have done something like what it is suggested here....the French nation would be after his head, not just club fans.

[FCH]

Fair play at it's best.

[beachesl]

More fuel on the fire by Mr Diplomacy (LOL)....Roy is right about the gift of the penalty in the Georgia match, they should not have won that game, i watched it, and should not have been gifted the penalty.

---------------

Roy Keane has no sympathy for Republic of Ireland exit

Ireland need to get over it - Keane

Roy Keane has lambasted the Republic of Ireland's attempts to get their controversial World Cup play-off match against France replayed.

The Republic appealed to Fifa after their 2-1 aggregate defeat by France on the basis that the winning goal came after a blatant Thierry Henry handball.

But Ipswich boss Keane said: "They can complain all they want but France are going to the World Cup - get over it.

"France were there for the taking and Ireland didn't do it. Same old story."

The Irishman, who made 65 appearances for the Republic as a player, continued: "If I'd been there in the dressing room after the game, I wouldn't be talking about the handball. I'd focus on why the defenders didn't clear it. They should've cleared it.

"I'd be more annoyed with my defenders and my goalkeeper than Thierry Henry. How can you let the ball bounce in your six-yard box? How can you let Thierry Henry get goal-side of you? If the ball goes into the six-yard box, where the hell is my goalkeeper?

"These are skills and lessons you learn as a schoolboy.

"Ireland had their chances in the two games and they never took them. They had chances at Croke Park (in the first leg) and they had chances on Wednesday.

"They didn't take them, but it's the usual FAI (Football Association of Ireland) reaction - 'we've been robbed, the honesty of the game...' It's rubbish."

And Keane pointed out that controversial decisions went Ireland's way in the qualifying campaign, not least a harsh penalty award against Georgia which helped them to clinch a 2-1 qualifying win in February.

"There was one match against Georgia where Ireland got a penalty and it was one of the worst decisions I've ever seen which changed the whole course of the game.

"I don't remember the FAI after the game saying we should give them a replay."

Keane's antipathy towards the FAI stems back to the Pacific island of Saipan in 2002 when he left the team's pre-World Cup training camp, complaining that the facilities were sub-standard.

Despite the efforts of the media, Keane and manager Mick McCarthy failed to resolve the conflict and Keane missed the World Cup.

[Trillium]

quote:Originally posted by loyola

I've seen a video of player who goes down in the box and the ref calls a PK. The player went to the ref and told him there was no PK, that fell without being touch by the defender. Ref cancelled the PK.

I don't remember which league it was but this happened in a top league in an eastern europe country.

Edit: here you go, I found it:

http://www.theoffside.com/leagues/romania/fair-play-award-costin-lazar-refuses-a-penalty.html

And your point is ? Since the game was no re-started the referee is within his purvue to change his call.

And yes it was good sportsmanship and that should be rewarded... but tell what was the game score ?

[loyola]

quote:Originally posted by Trillium

And your point is ? Since the game was no re-started the referee is within his purvue to change his call.

And yes it was good sportsmanship and that should be rewarded... but tell what was the game score ?

Read Grizzly post, then read Eric post and then mine. You'll see what my point was.....I was just giving an example for Eric of a player refusing a pk.

I'm not suggesting it's similar to the Henry play and I don't pretend to know of an example of a player making a gesture of extreme fair play in an important game (maybe Di Canio). Henry is human after all, I don't blame him for not going to the ref, it would've taken a very exceptionnal man to do something like that .

Calling him a "cheat" is wrong IMO. He made the move by instinct and the ref couldn't catch it, end of the story and a bad way to end a very entertaining game.

[terpfan68]

The Globe and Mail had an editorial and a good article on the match. I read the paper edition so don't have the on-line address but it shouldn't be too hard to find.

The article makes the point that Henry had about 30 seconds to go to the ref and tell him about the handball. Instead he will be remembered for something that is not quite so noble.