Le Hand of Henry and the Luck of the Irish

Even before World Cup 2010 kicked-off in South Africa, controversy was already sparked over an incident involving French footballing legend Thierry Henry, in his team's qualifying game against Republic of Ireland.

There is no real argument about whether France's winning goal was a result of a handball by Henry; he admitted it afterwards so that put paid to that aspect of the controversy:

There was still a lot to gripe about though. Irish football fans reacted furiously. A Facebook petition to have the match replayed gathered over half a million followers. But it wasn't just the Irish soccer community that was enraged. The injustice done to Ireland became an international talking point and for once it had nothing to do with the Brits (which must have come as a surprise to them as much as anyone).

The discussion arising out of the incident increased pressure on FIFA to take decisive action by introducing video technology. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was just one of the high profile names who weighed in supporting calls for a replay:

Bizarrely within a few short months of that interview Arsene Wenger would have his own run in Referee Martin Hansson who took charge of that particular World Cup qualifier.

Many others were canvassed for their opinion including footballing legend Pele. A formal complaint was lodged with FIFA by the Football Association of Ireland who called for the match to be replayed:

FIFA refused to be swayed however and France headed off to South Africa, where their performance was mediocre, getting dumped out of the competition in the first round. The Irish players and fans watching must surely have felt that they would have done better. 

Some more reactions to the affair are included in the playlist below (we've saved the best for last!):