The Football Association of Ireland has called on FIFA to replay last night’s 2nd leg World Cup Qualifying Playoff against France and has officially lodged a complaint asking that the result be wiped clean after Thierry Henry’s admission that t was indeed a handball.

Via Guardian 

Reacting to the controversy caused when Thierry Henry’s handball led to France’s winning goal, the FAI said: “Conclusive video evidence of a deliberate hand ball by Henry, which led to France’s additional-time goal, has been seen by millions of football fans worldwide. The blatantly incorrect decision by the referee to award the goal has damaged the integrity of the sport.

“We now call on Fifa, as the world governing body for our sport, to organise for this match to be replayed. The handball was recognised by the Fifa commissioner, the referee observer and the match officials, as well as by the player himself.”

It goes on to argue that Fifa does have the right to take action: “There is precedent for the invalidation of such results. In 2005, the Bureau of the Fifa World Cup organising committee reached a decision to invalidate the result of a World Cup qualification match between Uzbekistan and Bahrain on the basis of a ‘technical error by the referee of the match’.

“The Football Association of Ireland is hoping that Fifa and its disciplinary committee will, on behalf of football fans worldwide, act in a similar fashion so that the standards of fair play and integrity can be protected.”

Image via Wikimedia