Superb Ireland, fantastic effort and great support from the fans, well done.

And what happens, Thierry Henry handballs a pass (would have gone out otherwise) that gives France a goal and takes them through to the world cup. No question, it may have been an instinctive [...]]]> Ok, 18/11/09 Paris, let’s cut to the chase!

Superb Ireland, fantastic effort and great support from the fans, well done.

And what happens, Thierry Henry handballs a pass (would have gone out otherwise) that gives France a goal and takes them through to the world cup. No question, it may have been an instinctive reaction but he definitely pushes his arm forward to keep the ball in play – and he doesn’t really do himself any favours by insisting otherwise. (McShane’s taken a bit of stick, but i think the ball was going out as far as he was concerned and he’d done enough to cover it.)

The referee could have asked Henry if it was a handball, but presumably didn’t want to put the player in a difficult spot, the linesman could have called it but didn’t. The referee is supposed to enforce the laws of the game, only this time he didn’t stop to consider if a ‘crime’ had been committed in the first place.

Law 5 – Though shalt turn a blind eye if you feel it suits the interests of FIFA?

Hmmm?

I guess it’ll all calm down, but to me Ireland was the best team, out-played the opposition, totally professional, are true heroes, and deserved the opportunity for the result to go to penalties.

This was the French coach’s words after the match:

“It was hard, laborious and indeed miraculous,” he told French television. “I was sure we would make it though. My forecast was 1-1!”

Hand of god type miraculous i wonder?

Or maybe as FIFA describe it themselves - ‘a stroke of luck’
(Didn’t take long to rewrite history!)

The French are going to the world cup, but in the back of their minds they should never forget how they got there – they have a technically incorrect decision and a ‘stroke’ to thank for it!

FIFA Fair Play? contact FIFA

And latterly, FIFA President Blatter’s response to Ireland’s on 30/11/09…

Not sure what to make of that, sounds ok to start with but the laughter at the end seems to be dismissive or condescending? Personally I thought the idea of team 33 (despite the rejigging) was a good solution. Sent an email to the Jean-Pierre.Escalettes@fff.fr of the French Football Federation to that effect myself on 20.11.09…

Dear Sir,

Michael Regan.
www.diaspora.ie

Needless to say no response, but thought it worth asking anyway.

And for anyone who says ‘get over it, it’s just a game’ – tell that to FIFA and their sponsors who pile in hundreds of millions of euros for product placement. Bet they don’t allow liberties when someone starts flogging copycat merchandise! Mon Dieu!

And delving deeper…

When the endemic cynicism of league football spills over so visibly on to the international stage then the people who look down from above (sponsors etc) will start to question if a line has been crossed. There’s a fine balance between allowing cheating (which in turn encourages tribal loyalties and a sort of warped competitiveness on the field and in the stands), and running the risk that fans themselves become cynical and move away from the game.

The question: Is there any threat to revenue?

Bear in mind that Adidas, for example, are investing 315 million Euros in the World Cup / FIFA in exchange for prominent product marketing etc, and they expect a good return on their investment. This is the 60th year since Adolf Dassler first registered Adidas in the Commercial Register, and they want their celebrations to be a success. “Football is the heart and soul of Adidas” and with their key market tainted by unsporting actions on the pitch it does little to complement the image they like to portray.

To put this into perspective, and according to Bloomberg, Adidas AG expects its 2010 World Cup-related merchandise sales to exceed $1.8 billion next year.

Have you heard of Adidas Fair Play Cologne – wonder if an ad for that will appear in South Africa! Then there’s the Adidas Thierry Henry World Cup Jerseys which retail at about $99 – i suspect the queue for those just got shorter as well.

The business of professional football is as much about building brands, selling celebrity, capitalising on controversy, and pumping up the excitement as it is about kicking a ball, and the complexities behind the scenes are often lost in the noise. The play-off seeding, and the associated change in the rules by FIFA to give the bigger countries a better chance of qualifying, indicate where the current priorities are. This was to ensure as many fans (wallets) as possible are interested in the World Cup, and on the planes to South Africa.

More money spent means bigger sponsorship in the coming years – and the relationship between FIFA and it’s sponsors is very symbiotic.

FIFA itself is also under scrutiny – here’s a couple of articles from ‘Play The Game’ that give you a sense of things…

Sepp Blatter: salary and FIFA bribes      Sepp Blatter: bonus cover-up

Thierry Henry is a victim of the system he operates in, no sympathy it’s his choice, and Domenech may be sacrificed at some point soon too – what really counts though is whether those who run the football scene see financial value in keeping the game the way it is, or whether they decide it’s time to adopt a different strategy.

If players themselves want more honesty in the game they should be insisting FIFA implements either video arbitration, extra sideline officials, or stricter punishments (or a combination of all) before they go to the World Cup.

Furthermore someone needs to be reminded that teams should be able to qualify for competitions based on their abilities. Changing the rules to lock out ‘underdogs’ in favour of bigger profits is NOT fair play!

And check this out: fastest growing Facebook page ever?

And to finish with Thierry Henry’s own words…

“It was just necessary to exploit what was exploitable”

(Think about those words, in the world of football do they go deeper than face value?)

A sad day for the game, and sorry to say not a proud one for the French either.

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Original pre-match posts:

We’re in the World Cup qualifier play-offs and it’s Ireland vs France before we can get to South Africa. The first tie is in Dublin on the 14th November, and the second in Paris on 18th November.

I believe we could trip up the French, but it isn’t an easy one. What we need is big Irish support both home and away. Support in Dublin is guaranteed, but the Paris stands could be looking very blue!

First we’ve got French coach, Monsieur Domenech, urging the French fans to grab all available tickets as quick as poss and keep the Irish down to the 10% allocation, and then Ooh-la-la O’Leary goes and ramps up Ryanair charges for the day! (300+ Euros return, but about 50 Euros a week later).

Whilst we might do the same if we were the French coach, i’m not so sure about an Irish airline making it harder for Irish fans to support the team. I can get it if from the business aspect, but how about a bit of Irish solidarity for a great event that only happens once in 4 years.

I like Ryanair, flew with them a couple of weeks ago and will again. I just think Micky boy looks better in green, and he should drop the fare and get as many Irish fans over there as possible!

Once every four years – come on Michael!

Feck it’ll be a party anyway! (Paris here we come…!)

Good luck Ireland

Ok, quick update 14th Nov: 1-0 to France in Dublin tonight – Ireland played well in the first half but France got the upper hand in the 2nd. The goal was deflected in so a bit lucky, but France had most of the possession in the final 45 so maybe justified. The lads showed great heart, good composure, and all’s not lost, but it’ll have to be a mighty effort on Wednesday to pull it off – it’d be a coup but we CAN still do it!!!