Other Sports

The Goal that Stunned the Nation

November 24th, 2009
by Weeshie Fogarty

Seldom if ever has one goal caused such outrage, anger, massive disappointment together with world and public debate as that which William Gallas finished to the Irish net in Paris last Wednesday.  It will be spoken of for many decades to come and all for the wrong reasons. Unless you were out of this world or sound asleep for the last week you must have heard of or read about the double hand ball by Thierry Henry that set up that winning goal which knocked Ireland out of the world cup and has cost the FAI something like twenty million Euro in revenue. Most of the pundits said, and rightly so in my opinion that it would require a near miracle to beat the French in their own back yard and qualify for South Africa. This doubtfulness stemmed from a hesitant and defensive display in the first leg in Croke Park. However in Paris the Irish players guided magnificently by manager Giovanni Trapattoni turned in a memorable and unforgettable performance which without doubt deserved victory. The players were a credit to their country.

Early in last Wednesdays game Ireland were creating all the chances but as we have witnessed previously were unable to convert them. All the old memories came flooding back as we watched the men in green dominating without scoring and it was beginning to look like the same old story. Ireland were great but once again we would finish up with a moral victory. Then in the 33rd minute came that goal which changed everything and it was as beautiful as worked a goal as I have seen from an Irish side. Wonderful skill and ball control between Kilbane, Duff and Keane saw the latter place his shot with sublime skill low to the corner of the net past the superb French Goalkeeper Hugo Lioris.  And it was the French net minder who in my opinion played the greatest role in preventing the Irish from securing the scores which should have put them out of reach before the controversy erupted around the winning goal.

The French goalkeeper foiled Robbie Keane on two occasions, once in each half. The first when Keane stretched out a foot to chip the ball over the keeper, however Lioris threw himself head first at Keane's foot to save with great bravery. Keane sportingly went to the keeper and shook his hand. Then late in the second half when the Spurs striker bore down on goal Lioris expertly narrowed the angle and forced Keane to run the ball out of play. This was superb goalkeeping made look easy. Damian Duff who had probably his best ever outing in a green jersey also had a wonderful chance to clinch a place in South Africa but again Lioris advanced, closed down the angle and saved from point blank range. I believe these saves eventually send France on their way to the World Cup finals. Ireland were playing great football and dominating in most areas but the vital second goal eluded them. And remember a second goal from Ireland would mean the French would then need to score twice.

Then we come to that never to be forgotten heart break hand goal which shattered the Irish dreams. Thierry Henry has been greatly vilified on radio, press and TV. He has been labeled a cheat, a liar, a disgrace to his profession and much much more which can not be repeated here. However I believe that he is not the one to blame and is being labeled with all these tags completely in the wrong. The natural reaction for a player in his situation is instinctively to stick out his hand and control the ball. And yes he did it twice. This is human nature. He got away with it and he is not the first player and certainly not the last player to have conned the referee. I repeat his actions were natural instinctive reaction by the Frenchman just as Robbie Keane had reacted three times previously when he also deliberately handled the ball. Keane did it to gain advantage close to the French goal but he was spotted by the referee. But he did it.

So now you may well ask why the man in the middle did not spot Henry's foul?  If he had seen that double hand ball then he had no reason in the world not to disallow the goal.  So then you may also query that if everyone else saw the foul why not the official who was the closest of all. Well in my experience and I have stated this here before that when refereeing at top level whether soccer basketball or Gaelic football it can happen that you are too close to the action. This is I believe is what happened in the case of Martin Hansson the Swedish referee. I am convinced that his view of the incident was obscured by other players.

And so the man with whom I would lay all the blame is the linesman directly in line with the action. He was the person responsible for raising his flag and bringing any infringements to the attention of the referee. Not alone did he fail miserably in spotting the hand ball but as the cross came in two French players were blatantly off side. So there was four separate fouls committed in front of his eyes, two hand balls and a double off side. It is he who has all the questions to answer. I also believe that the more successful country's (and counties in GAA for that matter) which of course does not include Ireland will get and wrongly so that little benefit of the doubt when the game is in the melting pot and little decisions can decide the result. That linesman failed his sport, his referee and most importantly of all the Irish players and fans. If the same situation had arisen in front of the Irish goal I would bet my house on it that that linesman's flag would be raised in an instance.

We see cheating and gamesmanship in all field sports including Gaelic games as players are pulled and dragged off the ball, try to con the referee in seeking soft frees and stretch the rules to the fullest. Of course this is wrong. Thierry Henry did what thousands of others have done and will continue to do in field sports. Its not a nice thing to have to say but that linesman will have to examine his conscious and ask himself "how did I miss two off sides and two hand ball's in the space of seconds and in full view, or deep in my subconscious was I deliberately giving a break to the home side"? I believe and I know that I disagree with all the experts here but it was the non actions of this Sweetish linesman that cost Ireland a place in the World Cup finals in South Africa.



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