the word

A hands on approach for France sees them qualify for the World Cup Finals. I just wonder if their Captain Thierry Henry can handle the media pressure as well as the ball!

Occasionally we all need a helping hand and France had exactly that when Henry controlled the ball with his hand, then delivered the cross that William Gallas headed in for the extra time clincher.

The goal had devastating consequences for the Republic of Ireland who are now denied their rightful place in South Africa next summer. A huge shame considering for the most part they out classed the French in most areas of the park but failed to put away their chances.

There is in fact, no question that the former Arsenal striker handled the ball, not once but twice. Now he could have said it was a split second decision and that any footballer would do the same under the circumstances, but the French forward has denied that it was deliberate.

Whilst this is the Republic of Ireland who have exited the World Cup, I’ve no doubt it sits almost as heavy in the hearts of every England fan who experienced the same pain when Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ infamously put England out of Mexico 86.

What would be ironic (or a kick in the couilles if you are Irish) is if the hands that got France through to the Finals are the same hands that lift the World Cup, those of France captain Thierry Henry.

Certainly we were all so quick to judge, me included, especially when I saw the replay several times in slow motion. I can not condone it and never will, but we have all been party to similar behaviour at some stage in our life, and by that I mean cheated on some level.

I am now going to confess mine to date:-

In my early years I was the banker several times in Monopoly and used my financial control to borrow a few secret extra hundreds to buy Park Lane. I copied Cathryn Duxbury’s maths equations homework one Thursday morning because i had been to watch Oldham Athletic the night before and not had time. And my worse to date whilst travelling with my friend William Luxemburg, we used to enter ‘Killer’ pool competitions and he would always go before me so he could pot his and leave me set up with easy shots to sink mine, we stormed it and won hauls of prizes including free bungee jumps, meals, accommodation and most importantly free bar tabs!

It’s funny how I manage to justify mine by saying they were harmless and no big deal but someone lost out every time I cheated in some way.

What would be interesting to know is if Thierry Henry woke up this morning with a bit of Va Va Voom knowing his team would figure in South Africa or if he looked in the mirror to shave with his last Gillette razor and simply said “Mon Dieu”