Thierry Henry: Cheating Tramp

[sarah_lennon]

Thierry Henry had about five seconds in which to decide to join the immortals. While William Gallas wheeled away from the point-blank header which gave France the lead over the Republic of Ireland during extra time in their World Cup play-off last night, Henry's reaction could have gone one of two ways.

In the act of controlling the ball before providing Gallas with a perfect cross, France's captain had handled it. Not once, but twice. The first time might have been almost inadvertent, a pardonable reflex action as it was about to go out of play. The second, in which he scooped the ball with his left hand, redirecting it to drop nicely on to his right foot, was clearly intentional.

Even there, it could be argued that an element of reflex was involved. But in the few seconds that followed, Henry had two options. He could pretend that he had not broken the most basic law of outfield play. Or he could take the opportunity to neutralise the effect of his reflexes. To erase an error. To right a wrong. To be a man.

The world, or quite a lot of it, was watching. His president was in the seat of honour in the Stade de France. Almost everyone important in French football had assembled to cheer the team on in this vital match. It was the perfect stage for an act of unselfishness, of honesty, of genuine sportsmanship.

Such incidents are not confined to the pages of history. In 1996 Robbie Fowler unsuccessfully pleaded with the referee to rescind the award of a penalty to Liverpool at Highbury after the whistle had been blown for a perceived foul on him by David Seaman. In 2000, while playing for West Ham, Paolo Di Canio stopped play by catching the ball when he saw that the opposition's goalkeeper, Paul Gerrard of Everton, was lying helpless in the penalty area after twisting his knee while clearing the ball. Last March, during a Romanian first division match between Rapid Bucharest and Otelul Galati, Costin Lazar of Rapid refused to take a penalty because he did not believe he had been fouled, and eventually the official agreed with him.

I don't know anything about Costin Lazar, but I do know that Fowler was a streetwise scally and that Di Canio, who once pushed the referee Paul Alcock to the ground after being shown a red card, was in the habit of exchanging Fascist salutes with his hometown supporters at Lazio. Those incidents shifted our perception of them. Some seed of goodness had to lurk within men capable of such essentially unselfish acts. And they are there forever, in black and white, on the public record.

We all know which way Henry decided to go. With a broad, exultant beam on his face, he raced away from the scene of the crime to join Gallas and their team-mates in celebration of a goal that all knew was likely to be decisive in the battle for a place in next summer's World Cup finals.

For this was no ordinary piece of cheating. National pride and tens of millions of euros were at stake. So much greater, then, would have been the admiration of a decision to own up. Instead Henry chose to go down a path which exposed not just his own human frailty but the paranoid fear of failure running through a French squad (and their manager) haunted by comparisons with the glories of the recent past.

Henry was a hopeless captain at Arsenal and he is a hopeless captain of France. On Wednesday he did not have the gumption to say, "OK, that wasn't a goal" – an admission on which the referee would have been obliged to act – "but we'll use the remaining quarter of an hour's play to demonstrate that we are better than the Irish and more deserving of a place in the final 32 in South Africa next year."

And, being Henry, he reacted to the final whistle not by celebrating with his team- mates but by making a show of going over and sitting down on the turf to commiserate with the dejected Richard Dunne, the most heroic of Irish players. He told Dunne that the Irish had deserved to win, and admitted that he had handled the ball. "But," he added, "I am not the referee."

No, mon brave, but you are the captain of France, the country that gave us the World Cup, and here you had the chance to show us what sport can mean – or, at least, what we tell our children it means.

To rank the incident in Paris alongside Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" in 1986 is misleading. That was a street kid's instinct, acclaimed by his compatriots as revenge for Antonio Rattín and the Malvinas. Henry may come from Les Ulis, a quartier difficile outside Paris, but he is a sophisticated man, and a much decorated one. A chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur should have done better – by his opponents, by himself, and by the game

[sarah_lennon]

Most shocking part of all this? That Mauler actually sat down and watched a soccer match!

[sally]

Dear Deco, that is one of the most breathtakingly snobish posts I have ever read. So cheating is endemic in soccer? Says a poster on a rugby site? As in rugby - the sport of Back, Johnson, Burger, Harlequins, the breakdown, gouging, stamping, sledging? Go and grow a mind outside of your narrow cultural confines. Diving in soccer is dispicable at times, but I'd let a snooker or tennis player take the moral high ground on this if I were you.

[Slipper1]

Dear Deco, that is one of the most breathtakingly snobish posts I have ever read. So cheating is endemic in soccer? Says a poster on a rugby site? As in rugby - the sport of Back, Johnson, Burger, Harlequins, the breakdown, gouging, stamping, sledging? Go and grow a mind outside of your narrow cultural confines. Diving in soccer is dispicable at times, but I'd let a snooker or tennis player take the moral high ground on this if I were you.

That's violence, not cheating.

Well Quinns were cheating, but the others were just violent.

[Degz]

Dear Deco, that is one of the most breathtakingly snobish posts I have ever read. So cheating is endemic in soccer? Says a poster on a rugby site? As in rugby - the sport of Back, Johnson, Burger, Harlequins, the breakdown, gouging, stamping, sledging? Go and grow a mind outside of your narrow cultural confines. Diving in soccer is dispicable at times, but I'd let a snooker or tennis player take the moral high ground on this if I were you.

That's violence, not cheating.

Well Quinns were cheating, but the others were just violent.

Back was cheating also. But in the main, much more cheating in wendyball.

[Skinfull]

I was gutted. And I'm not a huge soccer fan.
Though I reckon if Ireland scored a goal under similar circumstances I'd be smirking under the cuff of my jersey. but all the same if KEane or Duff put their hands up and said, sorry hand ball I'd be proud.
But its all part of sport eh. You get some decisions and you lose some. Thats sport. All sport. It just goes to show that a TMO is really needed in the beautiful game.

Having said all that...if Chabal put a try under the posts in a blatantly cheating manner that kicked us out of Qualifying for the World Cup then I may not be responsible for my actions. Fair play to the fan who were over there.
Not to launch into any stereotypes but if they were English fans who lost out to France like that...I can imagine the headlines this morning would have been different.

Also fair fecks to the radio this morning that had that "I hate Henry" song to the tune of A-Ha's "Take on me" It was funny as.

[deco]

Dear Deco, that is one of the most breathtakingly snobish posts I have ever read.follow the link to PR & take it up with the OP. So cheating is endemic in soccer? I said "Cheating & soccer go hand in hand. Cheating is an integral part of modern, professional soccer." Says a poster on a rugby site? Yes As in rugby - the sport of Back, Johnson, Burger, Harlequins, the breakdown, gouging, stamping, sledging? Yes. Go and grow a mind outside of your narrow cultural confines. Diving in soccer is dispicable at times so you think cheating is okay, at times?, but I'd let a snooker or tennis player take the moral high ground on this if I were you.Thats a little narrow minded, no?

Snobbish has two "b's"

[Mauler]

Most shocking part of all this? That Mauler actually sat down and watched a soccer match!

I feel dirty and used. No matter how hard I scrub, I still cant get the stench of Puff Ball off.

[mikey]

Most shocking part of all this? That Mauler actually sat down and watched a soccer match!

I feel dirty and used. No matter how hard I scrub, I still cant get the stench of Puff Ball off.

I share your shame..........watching only 22 people chasing a ball thats bounces only in a regular and predictable fashion - its unnatural I tell you....

[Terraceman]

There's definitely two ways at looking at this sort of thing. Don't know if anyone remembers when Damien Duff went down for a penalty in the Ireland - Spain game (Harte subsequently missed the penalty). Jim Beglin as co-commentator says something to the effect that everyone else is doing it we may as well have our go at diving as well. The same Beglin was obviously not on the same note last night.

Having said that I don't think I've ever been more frustrated or disappointed then i was after the game last night. Whatever about diving it was blatant cheating. I think to expect Henry to own up is a bit naive however. Whatever about regretting it later on the spur of the moment your never going to admit it.

[tackle-bag]

The only good thing that may come from all of this is that people in Ireland may finally eschew soccer as the limited, wretched sport that it is and turn to superior games like rugby union. Immediately after the final whistle last night, I turned to a few friends of mine who are huge soccer fans and asked 'how can you honestly even begin to defend this excuse for a game'? None of them was capable of producing a coherent answer. One of them muttered something about the hand of Back, whereafter I pointed out the fact that that was one low point in almost 15 years of the professional game. I've despised soccer for years now and, although I'm gutted as an Irishman to see us go out, I'm delighted to see the sport exposed for the disgrace that it truly is.

[sarah_lennon]

Cos diving never happens in rugby? No!
Nor cheating to get an unfair advantage? No!
Nor putting one's hands where is illegal? No!
Nor fabricating injuries to gain a potentially match winning advantage? No!

I think we need to have a look at rugby and the way it's evolving actually before we get too far onto our high horse. Far more imaginary card waving going on now as well as blatant cheating. The advantage rugby has over soccer is that it uses video evidence both in relation to points being scored and in relation to retrospective punishment of serious foul play.

Type Sport Cheat into Google Images.The first photograph is Sonny Liston, the second some lady/dude, the third Tom Williams followed by various pictures of Forrmula 1, Rugby, Cricket. It's page 6 before a football image - ironically Maradonna.

[SCG]

"Shock Horror - Soccer Player Cheats" So what's new!

This furore is becoming totally ludicrous. I have even received an email from a TD (FF of course) promising action - as if he really cared! It's a wonderful way of shifting the national focus from the Banks.

[limecat]

http://bit.ly/LE4B8

[LeRouxIsPHat]

There's only one precedent for cheating like this that I can think of so if history has taught us anything it's that Henry should have to kick Bishop Brennan up the ar*e!

[sarah_lennon]

http://www.punchinthefacebook.com/punch/thierry-henry

[tackle-bag]

Cos diving never happens in rugby? No! Eh, never.
Nor cheating to get an unfair advantage? No! Doesn't occur with anywhere near the same degree of frequency as in soccer, where it is absolutely endemic.
Nor putting one's hands where is illegal? No! Probably the best example of foul play in rugby, but also something which is often incredibly difficult to police as it happens under a mass of bodies. Spotting a guy catching a soccer ball before tossing it onto his foot is far easier.
Nor fabricating injuries to gain a potentially match winning advantage? No! A problem which has afflicted rugby in recent times, but which has been clamped down upon heavily by the authorities. I bet no disciplinary action will be taken against Henry in this instance, even though anything short of a total ban from playing in the world cup would be inadequate.

[sarah_lennon]

Cos diving never happens in rugby? No! Eh, never.

One word - Stringer!

A problem which has afflicted rugby in recent times, but which has been clamped down upon heavily by the authorities. I bet no disciplinary action will be taken against Henry in this instance, even though anything short of a total ban from playing in the world cup would be inadequate.[/b]

Agree with this. Rugby has always been very keen to dish out the retrospectives.

[Metal]

[quote="deco" Dishonesty is an integral part of the personality of every single scumbag that walks out on a soccer pitch.


Everyone that plays football is a dishonest scumbag??

You've got to be kiddin me...

[exiledinmunster]

Was a bit shook when this thread was started so want to apologise to any tramps out there for associating them with henry