2010 World Cup Qualifying

[NJTank]

Ireland got screwed royally. Yet another reason to France

[TFoA]

Alright, from what Ive surmised on Twitter, there was some hilariously bad officiating on the goal that will possibly send ...just saw the highlights on SportsCenter, OH MY GOD, THE IRISH GOT SCREWED.

1) Offside. OBVIOUS offside.

2) May have been a handball BEFORE Henry's

3) Henry would've been called for a carry in freaking basketball. Amazingly obvious handball.

At least two obvious calls against the French and nothing was called. Wow. That's terrible, just terrible. That is a :censored:in mess right there. Henry seemed thrilled that he had got away with it.

Yes, the handball played a big part in the French goal, but it is not why Ireland lost. If Ireland can score at any other point in the game, it might not come down to a handball in extra time.

I can understand that not being the sole reason that they ended up not going through...but the fact that there were 3 separate occasions of something illegal happening, and nothing was called is just ridiculous. Who knows what could've happened had Ireland been given the ball back if just one thing was called. Maybe Ireland would've scored. Maybe France would've scored a legit goal, and maybe it would've all just went to PKs and been a random cluster:censored: to decide who'd go to South Africa. Ireland still should've had that chance.

[BrySmalls]

Have fun with another Group Stage exit France.

QFT

I had to sorry Although I was pulling for the French that day.

Well at least it happened in the Finals...There's no shame in losing in penalties in the World Cup Final.

When something like that happens, shame and ridicule is all you're left with.

You wish. When you prove that you're one of the best footballing nations in the world, and the only reason you're not world champions is penalty kicks, nothing can take that away from you.

Maybe... except for your best PKer making an absolute fool of himself in front of a worldwide audience.

I can guarantee that the only people not looking on that game as an embarrassment and a perpetual joke are blind French supporters like yourself.

Hell, Italy isn't even going to be remembered years from now as winning that World Cup. All that will be remembered is that Zidane made a fool of himself for the world.

"Best PKer"? David Trezuget was the player that missed his penalty kick. Zidane's presence doesn't mean that Trezuget would score. Zidane's presence would only push Trezuget from the 2nd penalty taker, to the 3rd. If he misses again, and Italy make all theirs, Italy still wins.

I'm not going to argue that people are going to remember the 2006 final because of Zidane's action. It doesn't bother me, because I know better than to judge an entire team on one moment of one players career.

I know I'm late as I'm trying to figure out the scoring for the Group Stage Predictions, but, unless you're this guy:

[Eye]

Ireland got screwed royally. Yet another reason to France

Just another classic from you, Tank. Well done.

Alright, from what Ive surmised on Twitter, there was some hilariously bad officiating on the goal that will possibly send ...just saw the highlights on SportsCenter, OH MY GOD, THE IRISH GOT SCREWED.

1) Offside. OBVIOUS offside.

2) May have been a handball BEFORE Henry's

3) Henry would've been called for a carry in freaking basketball. Amazingly obvious handball.

At least two obvious calls against the French and nothing was called. Wow. That's terrible, just terrible. That is a :censored:in mess right there. Henry seemed thrilled that he had got away with it.

Yes, the handball played a big part in the French goal, but it is not why Ireland lost. If Ireland can score at any other point in the game, it might not come down to a handball in extra time.

I can understand that not being the sole reason that they ended up not going through...but the fact that there were 3 separate occasions of something illegal happening, and nothing was called is just ridiculous. Who knows what could've happened had Ireland been given the ball back if just one thing was called. Maybe Ireland would've scored. Maybe France would've scored a legit goal, and maybe it would've all just went to PKs and been a random cluster:censored: to decide who'd go to South Africa. Ireland still should've had that chance.

Sure, a call should have been made and the goal should NOT have counted. Ireland had chances to put the game away before it went to extra time and had they scored earlier in the game, it may not have come down to what it came down to. Basically what I am saying is, if you take care of business, then it doesn't come down to something that may or may not be out of your control.

[gingerbreadmann]

Alright, from what Ive surmised on Twitter, there was some hilariously bad officiating on the goal that will possibly send ...just saw the highlights on SportsCenter, OH MY GOD, THE IRISH GOT SCREWED.

1) Offside. OBVIOUS offside.

2) May have been a handball BEFORE Henry's

3) Henry would've been called for a carry in freaking basketball. Amazingly obvious handball.

At least two obvious calls against the French and nothing was called. Wow. That's terrible, just terrible. That is a :censored:in mess right there. Henry seemed thrilled that he had got away with it.

Yes, the handball played a big part in the French goal, but it is not why Ireland lost. If Ireland can score at any other point in the game, it might not come down to a handball in extra time.

I can understand that not being the sole reason that they ended up not going through...but the fact that there were 3 separate occasions of something illegal happening, and nothing was called is just ridiculous. Who knows what could've happened had Ireland been given the ball back if just one thing was called. Maybe Ireland would've scored. Maybe France would've scored a legit goal, and maybe it would've all just went to PKs and been a random cluster:censored: to decide who'd go to South Africa. Ireland still should've had that chance.

Sure, a call should have been made and the goal should NOT have counted. Ireland had chances to put the game away before it went to extra time and had they scored earlier in the game, it may not have come down to what it came down to. Basically what I am saying is, if you take care of business, then it doesn't come down to something that may or may not be out of your control.

I know what you're saying, but it's still kind of bull. Outplaying an opponent for nearly the entire match and having a lead even though it could/should be bigger are no reasons to justify losing on an illegal goal. It's like saying "Oh, you played much better, but you should have gotten another goal, so we are going to punish you by giving the other team an illegal goal to beat you." Yes, maybe it should have been over already in favor of Ireland, but as much as that is true, (and I know you're not trying to emphasize this) it doesn't justify losing on an insanely bad missed call. Just by playing like that, you should at least get a chance to put it away in PKs if that's how the match fairly plays out, and if you lose then or earlier on a real goal, then you can bring out the "missed opportunities" card as blame. But the fact is they never allowed a true goal in that match, and nothing, nothing they did even slightly gives them fault for losing like that.

[Eye]

Alright, from what Ive surmised on Twitter, there was some hilariously bad officiating on the goal that will possibly send ...just saw the highlights on SportsCenter, OH MY GOD, THE IRISH GOT SCREWED.

1) Offside. OBVIOUS offside.

2) May have been a handball BEFORE Henry's

3) Henry would've been called for a carry in freaking basketball. Amazingly obvious handball.

At least two obvious calls against the French and nothing was called. Wow. That's terrible, just terrible. That is a :censored:in mess right there. Henry seemed thrilled that he had got away with it.

Yes, the handball played a big part in the French goal, but it is not why Ireland lost. If Ireland can score at any other point in the game, it might not come down to a handball in extra time.

I can understand that not being the sole reason that they ended up not going through...but the fact that there were 3 separate occasions of something illegal happening, and nothing was called is just ridiculous. Who knows what could've happened had Ireland been given the ball back if just one thing was called. Maybe Ireland would've scored. Maybe France would've scored a legit goal, and maybe it would've all just went to PKs and been a random cluster:censored: to decide who'd go to South Africa. Ireland still should've had that chance.

Sure, a call should have been made and the goal should NOT have counted. Ireland had chances to put the game away before it went to extra time and had they scored earlier in the game, it may not have come down to what it came down to. Basically what I am saying is, if you take care of business, then it doesn't come down to something that may or may not be out of your control.

I know what you're saying, but it's still kind of bull. Outplaying an opponent for nearly the entire match and having a lead even though it could/should be bigger are no reasons to justify losing on an illegal goal. It's like saying "Oh, you played much better, but you should have gotten another goal, so we are going to punish you by giving the other team an illegal goal to beat you." Yes, maybe it should have been over already in favor of Ireland, but as much as that is true, (and I know you're not trying to emphasize this) it doesn't justify losing on an insanely bad missed call. Just by playing like that, you should at least get a chance to put it away in PKs if that's how the match fairly plays out, and if you lose then or earlier on a real goal, then you can bring out the "missed opportunities" card as blame. But the fact is they never allowed a true goal in that match, and nothing, nothing they did even slightly gives them fault for losing like that.

I never said that the goal should have counted or that anything justifies an illegal goal counting; in fact I said the goal should not count.

My argument is not bull and it actually feeds right into you are saying. Ireland should have put France away when they had the opportunities and if they did, game over. Ireland outplayed France, but did they really outplay them by that much? Shots, momentum and time of possesion are great, but goals are all that matter and Ireland was only able to get one and was unable to bury France. Yes, a goal like the one France scored should not count, but it never comes down to that if Ireland scores on their opportunities (or wins their group in the first place and not having to even go to the second round of qualifying.)

Ireland never allowed a "true goal" as you put it, but if you get it done early, the other team may not come back and it may not come down to a missed call. Finish off the opponent and the game is yours. Ireland couldn't finish and that was ultimately their downfall because a bad call on a goal that should not have counted can come into play and hurt them.

[MattF]

Uruguay score and that's probably it, I can't see Costa Rica scoring twice in 15 minutes

[MattF]

Uruguay score and that's probably it, I can't see Costa Rica scoring twice in 15 minutes

And Costa Rica just got one back...

[BrySmalls]

Uruguay has clinched the last spot for the World Cup.

[gingerbreadmann]

Alright, from what Ive surmised on Twitter, there was some hilariously bad officiating on the goal that will possibly send ...just saw the highlights on SportsCenter, OH MY GOD, THE IRISH GOT SCREWED.

1) Offside. OBVIOUS offside.

2) May have been a handball BEFORE Henry's

3) Henry would've been called for a carry in freaking basketball. Amazingly obvious handball.

At least two obvious calls against the French and nothing was called. Wow. That's terrible, just terrible. That is a :censored:in mess right there. Henry seemed thrilled that he had got away with it.

Yes, the handball played a big part in the French goal, but it is not why Ireland lost. If Ireland can score at any other point in the game, it might not come down to a handball in extra time.

I can understand that not being the sole reason that they ended up not going through...but the fact that there were 3 separate occasions of something illegal happening, and nothing was called is just ridiculous. Who knows what could've happened had Ireland been given the ball back if just one thing was called. Maybe Ireland would've scored. Maybe France would've scored a legit goal, and maybe it would've all just went to PKs and been a random cluster:censored: to decide who'd go to South Africa. Ireland still should've had that chance.

Sure, a call should have been made and the goal should NOT have counted. Ireland had chances to put the game away before it went to extra time and had they scored earlier in the game, it may not have come down to what it came down to. Basically what I am saying is, if you take care of business, then it doesn't come down to something that may or may not be out of your control.

I know what you're saying, but it's still kind of bull. Outplaying an opponent for nearly the entire match and having a lead even though it could/should be bigger are no reasons to justify losing on an illegal goal. It's like saying "Oh, you played much better, but you should have gotten another goal, so we are going to punish you by giving the other team an illegal goal to beat you." Yes, maybe it should have been over already in favor of Ireland, but as much as that is true, (and I know you're not trying to emphasize this) it doesn't justify losing on an insanely bad missed call. Just by playing like that, you should at least get a chance to put it away in PKs if that's how the match fairly plays out, and if you lose then or earlier on a real goal, then you can bring out the "missed opportunities" card as blame. But the fact is they never allowed a true goal in that match, and nothing, nothing they did even slightly gives them fault for losing like that.

I never said that the goal should have counted or that anything justifies an illegal goal counting; in fact I said the goal should not count.

My argument is not bull and it actually feeds right into you are saying. Ireland should have put France away when they had the opportunities and if they did, game over. Ireland outplayed France, but did they really outplay them by that much? Shots, momentum and time of possession are great, but goals are all that matter and Ireland was only able to get one and was unable to bury France. Yes, a goal like the one France scored should not count, but it never comes down to that if Ireland scores on their opportunities (or wins their group in the first place and not having to even go to the second round of qualifying.)

Ireland never allowed a "true goal" as you put it, but if you get it done early, the other team may not come back and it may not come down to a missed call. Finish off the opponent and the game is yours. Ireland couldn't finish and that was ultimately their downfall because a bad call on a goal that should not have counted can come into play and hurt them.

That's all true, but sometimes it just doesn't happen as you would like. Winning the group isn't just something you can do like that and if you come in second you have missed a lot of opportunities. There were plenty of missed opportunities and yes, outplaying only counts for so much if you don't score, but the fact remains that this game should have gone to PKs barring another goal in the rest of OT. Yeah, if you're Ireland you're kicking yourself for not making those shots, but you do that anyway. They didn't lose because of the missed opportunities and I think that's the key. With any loss (or even win), you go back to missed opportunities as a point of importance, but in this case they should still have been able to have even more opportunities to put away. This isn't black and white and of course your points about missed opportunities are correct, but I'm trying to say that that's always the case and here something completely different made them lose, so you can't just put it on missed opportunities. Gah. It's hard to explain.

[twi]

Disappointed in Russia not making it. I have to give credit to Slovenia though, they went the entire tournament without giving up a goal at home.

[NEW.ERA]

Ahh the long two year journey is over and in a few short weeks we will know the final parings. Then it will be a long layoff until the first week in May at least.

[BrySmalls]

Surprise, surprise: Henry admits cheating.

[Breakwood]

Surprise, surprise: Henry admits cheating.

"It was a handball, but I'm not the ref. I told (the referee) but he said to me the same: 'You are not the ref.'"

Source

[DEAD!]

I think the issue isn't so much the handball, because it was obvious with all the cameras around, but where the all refs were positioned at the time. It might have been possible that with where Henry was, how many players were around and where he handed the ball, that the refs views were obstructed and therefore didn't quite see the handball.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Deox_McHrg

[chestnutz]

Meh, not so sure I agree with that. Now I have no way of knowing because of the poor video quality and not a good angle, but there would be a linesman on either the near sideline (post where Henry did it) or far sideline, correct? I assume it was on the near sideline, because I can't see one on the far sideline. Now, there was nobody between Henry and the assumed linesman on the near sideline. It wasn't like Henry hit it with his hand right in front of his chest, blocking the linesman view, but he blatantly stuck his hand out over the endline, in clear vision of the linesman. To say the linesman's view was obstructed isn't fair, and honestly there is no excuse for him missing that.

I used to be a huge Henry fan, in fact I became an Arsenal supporter because of him. But this, along with other factors, has tarnished his reputation in my mind. Ireland got ripped, but part of me is happy because France is the more talented team, and I'd rather watch a match with them playing than Ireland in the WC.

That all said, Ireland defense is at fault on that goal. The entire team stuck their hands up and stopped when Henry handed it. If they (the defender marking Gallas in particular) had stuck with their man instead of halting and forgetting the play is still live, they had a good chance at defending Henry's cross. Hell, even the goalie had a chance to save it.

[Saintsfan]

I think the issue isn't so much the handball, because it was obvious with all the cameras around, but where the all refs were positioned at the time. It might have been possible that with where Henry was, how many players were around and where he handed the ball, that the refs views were obstructed and therefore didn't quite see the handball.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Deox_McHrg

I dunno, I think the far side linesman at least should have seen the handball reasonably clearly. To be honest I think the ref should have had a decent sense of what happened as well. My feeling is that they just bottled it in the end, and decided not to make the difficult call in a big match. Refs chicken out like that all the time.

On Chestnutz point, I am not sure the French teamis necesarily that much more talented than the Irish. I think they have Henry, who is still as talented a player playing in that game, but I am not sure who else they have really?? Its a long time since the days of Zidane, Deschamps, Desailly etc. (Though its probably fair to say that France are still a bit more talented than the Irish).

I'd agree that Ireland didn't play to the whistle on the goal, but when they have all seen such a blatant handball that is forgiveable.

[Breakwood]

Just some things to finally put this to bed.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/123208-repireland-georgia-giovanni-trappatoni-has-the-luck-of-the-irish

Then up stepped Finnish referee Jouni Hyytia for his moment in the spotlight in what was his final "big" game as official.

To confusion from both the Irish and Georgian sides, Hyytia awarded a penalty to the boys in green. A long ball found its way to Robbie Keane who seemed to control the ball with his hand only for the referee to let play continue.

The ball was then cleared but only as far as Kevin Doyle as it deflected off the Waterford man and into the path of Ucha Lobjanidze. The referee then gave a shrill blast of his whistle for what appeared to be an offside by Keane.

Instead to everyones surprise, Hyytia pointed to the penalty spot and deemed Lobjanidze to have handled the ball. Replays showed that Keane had handled the ball in the lead-up to this decision and that Keane was also offside as play continued. However, most surprising it also showed that the Georgian's hand had gone nowhere near the football which had hit him if anywhere on his collarbone.

Regardless of what the referee had thought he had seen, Keane did not need to be asked twice and immediately set the ball down on the penalty spot. The Spurs and Irish captain dispatched it with ease and the scores were level.

The proof

So once again we have a situation where a handball and an offside were missed, but this time Ireland was the beneficiary, so no one seems to care cause it's just the luck of the Irish.

Damien Duff sums it up the best I think, and this coming from a man who was actually on the pitch at the time.

Duff, despite being devastated by the events in Paris, has admitted he would have done the same had it been to Ireland's advantage, and said: "If it was down the other end and it was going out of play, I would have chanced my arm.

"You can't blame him (Henry). He's a clever player - but you expect the ref to see it, it was so blatant."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5g1SnPyTGOE9iQyjT5L2t1XQAWPzQ

[BrySmalls]

FIFA to Ireland: No replay.

FIFA said in a statement: "FIFA has today, 20 November 2009, replied to the request made by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) to replay the 2010 FIFA World Cup play-off match held on 18 November 2009 between France and the Republic of Ireland in Paris.

"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."

[NJTank]

How does soccer not have Instant Replay? What a joke what a friggen joke.