Top Stories

Henry’s Infamous Handball

Thierry Henry (Reuters)

Thierry Henry helped France into the World Cup with a handball that won't soon be forgotten in Ireland (or anywhere for that matter).

Here's Henry's Diego Maradona impression:

We'll take part of the blame for jinxing Henry by running the above photo with the Wednesday Commentary post, but in the end, the French star cheated and won't live it down any time soon. It should make for a fun introduction when he joins the Red Bulls this summer (okay, we're half kidding on that one).

What do you think of Henry's handball? Think he's a villain? Don't blame him for taking advantage? Are you more angry with the referees? Do you think UEFA and/or FIFA should step in and demand a replay or penalty kicks?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I was going to refrain from voicing my view but some of the posts claiming moral outrage are just plain ridiculous. Whilst most of us have a clear idea of what we would or would not do if faced with the same situation, I highly doubt that anyone who posts here has ever been in the same situation as Henry at that level with the stakes so high. Players react on instinct, and most are not afforded the time to ponder the consequences of their actions. That is why the referees are there to make the calls and as humans they sometimes miss them. So do not try to compare your own personal behavior in your recreational league to a professional player at this level. That is idiotic.

    If we wanted to hold all cheaters in soccer accountable, then we should look no further than our own Tim Howard. It was during a recent national team game when an opponent’s shot clearly went over the line, but Tim was quick enough to pull it back and fall on it. The referee blew that call to the opponent’s dismay. All the comments in SBI’s live blog were like: “Phew! We dogded a bullet” or “Good play Tim!”. Not a single post demanded that the game be stopped and Tim Howard tell the ref that the ball had crossed the line and it was a goal. Not a single one! Tim’s response? He said that the ref did not blow the whistle so he kept playing.

    To the Irish fans, I feel your pain but remember that every dog has its day. Don’t believe me? Everybody talks about ‘the hand of god’ episode, but does any one remember ‘the robbery of the century’ in 1966? Payback is a bitch. Just ask the English.

    Cheers

    Reply
  2. This lout should be banned from football. He has no place. This “frenchmen” belongs in the beach soccer league or the circus. You can take the boy out of Guadeloupe but not the guadeloupe out of the boy. True colors flying high. DNA my friends. DNA.

    Reply
  3. To all those who say it was the ref’s fault: the ref was conned by Henry and Gallas, and none of them did the right thing. We are teaching our kids it’s OK to cheat if you don’t get caught. It is now time for FIFA to do the right thing and order a replay.

    Tell FIFA directly that you want a replay

    http://www.fifa.com/contact/form.html

    For the record, this is what Gallas should have done if he wasn’t such a cheat:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7lnoiOmGLY

    Reply
  4. The argument was that Henry was blameless because he didn’t get caught. Except for scale (which is irrelevant because we’re talking about absolutes, not relative comparisons) my Madoff example is exactly the same. If you don’t understand this simple logic, stop talking.

    Reply
  5. Actually, you ARE the irrational one. I used an extreme example that’s consistent with your logic and showed that your logic doesn’t hold up. And you’re right, the offensive lineman who gets away with holds is also wrong. Wrong is wrong. Period. It doesn’t matter if a lot of people do it. It doesn’t matter if a lot of people get away with it. It is against the rules, period.

    Reply
  6. Henry said he told the referee it was a hand ball and the ref said, “you are not the ref.” Henry shouldn’t have done what he did but its a referee’s job to make the right call and he didn’t I blame it all on the officiating crew.

    Reply
  7. I think video replay is the wrong way to go. As others have said, in other sports that use video replays, refs still call things wrong. Plus, I have personally seen replays after a questionable play, and depending on what replay they show, some show intent to cheat while another replay in a different angle shows that a foul did indeed happen. To the people saying that just a quick replay would solve some big problems, how do we know which replay angle the ref would be reviewing? He would need to see ALL ANGLES to really be unbiased, which would take more than just “a few seconds”. A better idea would be to have an extra official behind each goal. If an official had been behind the net during that game, he would have very likely seen the handball.

    Reply
  8. One day an honorable man will turn to a referee, admit his error, and demand that a goal be disallowed. That man will be a hero. Henry is not a hero, he is a footballer.

    Reply
  9. i agree it would’ve been great to confess, but hard to expect that, i mean most athletes do not, it would take an outstanding act of sportsmanship which he didn’t do, the worst thing was his celebration

    Reply
  10. Clearly a handball. Looking at it in slow motion indicates that there was intent involved. But of course the game is not played in slow motion. It is tough to get all calls correct. Infractions happen in a blink of an eye. Another player could have shielded the center from getting a good look and don’t tell me the AR was in a great position to see this all happening.

    Mistakes and missed calls happen and are part of the game. Don’t complain about missed calls. If you are so great, get certified and do something about it. Be warned, however, it is much easier to referee a game from the bleachers or your living room than on the pitch.

    Reply
  11. To me, what Henry did is pretty low. But the answer isn’t instant replay, or a match replay. I think the answer is to penalize cheating after the fact, in a manner commensurate with the deed. If a review panel determined that Henry intentionally handled the ball that led to that goal, he should be banned from the first three games France plays in the WC.

    I completely understand the outrage here. I go ballistic when I see the ref-jobs done to the US in international games. But the fact remains: Ireland had a full slate of qualifying games and two playoff games to try and reach the WC. Henry’s cheat isn’t the reason they’re not going to SA. It’s just the most recent.

    Reply
  12. So you’re saying if someone robs a bank and the police don’t get him the robber shouldn’t be blamed, the cops should?

    My example may be a little too extreme but it wasn’t just the handball that left many soccer fans gutted (cause as soccer fans we’ve been conditioned to accept cheating and diving as part of the game) but the magntitude of the game in which it happened. A whole nations’ dreams were destroyed by one of the most blatant cheating plays on the soccer field.

    Imagine if Henry had manned up and confessed to the referee France still had a chance to win it all and if they did Thierry Henry would be the soccer world’s hero as opposed to the villain cheat he is now.

    I was hoping RBNY would sign him to play for us next year but I don’t want that cheat in my team. EVER.

    Reply
  13. Can’t blame him for playing through it. It happened so quickly. The first handball is absolutely unintentional. When a ball just clears somebody’s head in front of you like it did, it freezes you for half a second because you expect it to be changing direction.

    After the initial touch, he then clearly handled the ball onto his foot to cross.

    For some reason, this play reminds me of the Michael Jordan push off against the Jazz in the Finals about 10 years ago. It was the last seconds of the game with the series on the line and everybody knew who was going to be taking the shot. He clearly pushes Russel away from with his free hand to give himself room to shoot. I think the referees are prone to get caught up in the moment. The don’t want to be responsible for ruining a great play, so they err on the side on leniency – especially when it is a super star on the ball.

    It is a shame, and they should have made the call.

    Henry had the chance to commit one of the greatest sportsmanlike acts in history by admitting his handball immediately to the referee.

    He has experienced the other side of it when a Liverpool defender blocked what would have been a tying goal in the FA Cup final a few years ago.

    Reply
  14. The blame should be placed squarely on the officials. Handballs happen in every game. Sometimes they are intentional sometimes they are not. It is up to the ref to blow the whistle. Obviously fans of Ireland will never forget this. Their outrage is justified. But to say that Henry is some cheating scum of the earth is ridiculous.

    Reply
  15. That ENTIRE play was HORRIBLY officiated. BEFORE the handball France was in an offsides position, and it wasn’t very close either, a full step off. Secondly, that has to be one of the most obvious handballs I’ve ever seen.

    I seriously doubt FIFA or UEFA will do anything other than sit in awkward silence until it “goes away.”

    Bottom line, France barely skirted into this WC, and they will get smacked early in the tournament. They have been way off form, and Domenich is on his way out.

    Reply
  16. I’ll add to the chorus that:

    1) the Irish were robbed big time
    2) the ref screwed up
    3) I think Henry reacted in an instant but it wasn’t a premeditated cheat.
    4) video replay should be allowed on goals

    The main reason for #4 is that sports at this level are longer just “sport.” There are huge $$$’s associated with going to the WC or staying home. Now, I don’t think that is a good thing whatsoever, but it is the reality. That is why football has it and basketball does for the end of games. One mistake can cost an organization beaucoup bucks.

    Reply
  17. I agree somewhat with Belbo. The problem with what happened is not that he used his hand but that he continued. I would have more respect if it hit his hand and just went in. But in this case he knowingly cheated by continuing the play he should have just stopped. I wont be quite as mean as Belbo but I loved France and Henry but I will never ever root for either again.

    I felt absolutely cheated not getting to see a real resolution to an amazing two games.

    Reply
  18. If the referee did not or could not see the handball and neither did/could the assistant referees, then they did the right thing (they should NEVER make a call they did not see). Henry’s first touch with his hand was probably not intentional or even avoidable. After that, he continues to play, happens in every game at nearly every level, even with 8 year-olds you hear shouts from the sidelines to “play the whistle”.

    Still, while all this is perfectly understandable, it sucks to be irish. Most people wish something different had happened. Unfortunately sport, like life, is not always fair.

    Replays on TV are not always correct either, I recall in a W.C. game where the referee was vilified for a bad call in the box that the TV cameras clearly showed was wrong; it was not until a few days later that a video, exonerating the referees decision and showing that he got it right, surfaced. A handball might be more easy to see than whether or not a foul occurred, but bad angles from the TV views can make that questionable too, of course, it could help for those cases when a referee’s attention is distracted to watch for fouls committed elsewhere.

    Reply
  19. I wonder when people are going to start remembering that Given took down Anelka in the box. Why isn’t he garbage for not simply admitting he grabbed at another player’s foot?

    This sanctimonious belief that Henry should’ve somehow stopped the game or shown the world sportsmanship is a joke. Players accept dubious goals all the time.
    It’s a terrible way to go through, but this holy routine going on in punditry is annoying.

    Reply
  20. What I do not understand is French fans and players celebrating getting into the World Cup as a result of this type of play. You can’t revel in that. Stay classy, France.

    Reply
  21. This thread is typical of how hysterical rumors get started. True, Henry handled the ball, but he was not even close to being offside. Look at the tape morons. There was a Frenchman offside, but it wasn’t him. You invalidate an argument by embellishing your point with unneccasary and false accusations.

    Reply
  22. On that note, Ireland and France shouldn’t have been playing in the first place. Ireland or France should have each been playing either Greece or Ukraine. Both Ireland and France [please don’t try and tell me France shouldn’t be in the finals] should be in the finals, while neither Greece or Ukraine should be. Bottom line, the referees messed up. Period.

    Reply

Leave a Comment