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Ireland played like lions, South Africa will miss a hell of a guest
Thursday, 19 November 2009
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Brave, brave, magnificent Republic of Ireland. Like lions, they stood up and went for it and by God they delivered all that anyone could have asked for.
But in the end, after a 120 minute epic, what could they do? Cheated already by FIFA who changed the rules to give the bigger teams an easier passage, they were cheated once more by a goal which clearly should not have stood.
The French were embarrassed for sure. At the end they played loud rock music to drown out the singing of the 15,000 travelling Irish fans, their own supporters muted.
Ireland were simply heroic. They gave everything and at the end that included the shirts on their backs and their boots, which they threw to the Irish fans.
When Robbie Keane rolled the ball into the French net on 33 minutes, hope became belief and Irish fans were quite ridiculously looking for their passports for next summer.
When Damian Duff was sent clear on 60 minutes, South Africa hovered into view, so close you could smell the sea air in Cape Town, but Duff's shot was somehow saved.
Eyes peeping out behind the hands stuff. Crazy, amazing scenes. The majestic Stade de France stuffed to the rafters with celebrating Irish men and a woman dancing a delirious jig.
For 90 minutes Ireland played like they were the former World champions, stroking the ball around, whipping in crosses and coming within inches of a precious second goal.
They dreamed and dreamed again. They had the chances to grab the lot.
There was Duffer's attempt, O'Shea lashed over from ten yards out then Robbie rounded the French keeper after 72 minutes but he let it run a yard to far. Heart-busting stuff.
They needed that slice of luck but just didn't get it. The French, much maligned and booed off the pitch at half time in the regulation 90 minutes, literally nicked it.
Like master burglars, after being bossed and tossed around their own stadium by a superb, defiant Irish team, France stole the win in extra time.
And stole would be the operative word.
Replays would show striker Thierry Henry, standing in a clear offside position, twice handled the ball as he passed it to William Gallas who headed it home.
In a referring decision by Swede Martin Hansson which will now go down in infamy, the no-good goal stood, Ireland were out.
"Je ne regrette rien" (No, no regrets!) goes the song and Ireland (the ref aside) will have none, having given everything for themselves, the 15,000 fans in the Stade de France and for everyone at home.
In some ways the French were ready this time. A French flag bunged under every seat and a rather forceful stadium announcer telling fans when to wave it.
Visitors to Croke Park would hardly need lessons in cheering but it seems the French did last night.
"I'm going to shout 'Allez les bleus' and then you follow," bellowed the announcer before kick-off.
As knots of Irish fans launched into "C'mon you Boys in Green" the irritant with the mike became even louder as he urged the French fans to drown out 'les verts.'
RTE commentator George Hamilton sipped a Coke before the game and hoped for the best. "I could hear the Irish singing coming up from the Metro. I hope they get what they came for."
The journey ended just before 11.30pm, all hope finally extinguished.
Maybe it was inevitable. Ireland imagined themselves into a place where hope existed for several days, where we believed it might just be possible.
And why not? The doom-mongers who predicted Ireland's demise were already dancing on Trapattoni's after the defeat in Croke Park but at least he gave them a shot.
The fans had done their bit too, filling Paris with a riotous dose of green, drinking all the beer in the city and generally having a whale of a time. Earlier yesterday the Eiffel Tower was the place where the party started.
Under its four enormous steel struts yesterday afternoon, almost 500 Irish fans danced an afternoon jig. Lines of Irish supporters had emptied all the local shops of beer and pretty much everything else and transported the lot to Place de la Eiffel for the impromptu celebration.
As American tourists queued for the trip to the top of this most iconic of landmarks, the Irish fans sang "It used to be French, now it's Irish, the Eiffel Tower, the Eiffel Tower."
"The biggest of nights" read the headline in French sports newspaper ''L'Equipe, summing up the nervy sense of anticipation felt all week by people everywhere.
In the paper 'Le Figaro', not normally moved to cover much in the way of sport, a whole page was given to the cost of failing to qualify.
It made sober reading. Ireland's agonising failure to qualify for South Africa means a mammoth lost €20m in bonuses and money from television rights.
As the thousands of Irish fans trooped out to the Metro in Saint Denis, heartsick, exhausted but proud, you also knew South Africa has missed out on one hell of a party guest.
After the game Taoiseach Brian Cowen said: "To a man, they did Ireland proud."
He congratulated the Irish team on a "most courageous performance".
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Comments
483 Comments
Thierry Henry is a cheat & that's the end of it!
If this had happened to England or France it would be a different story all together! I'm not a believer in bringing technology into the game, but this is a totally differen't matter. This sort of blatent cheating would not happen in ANY other sport so why do we let it happen in football?? The least the FA should do is ban Thierry Henry from playing in this years World Cup & slap him with a large fine! Who cares if he is sorry? I know I don't & I know that the Irish definitely dont!
Posted by Lee Whitworth | 05.02.10, 09:28 GMT
"Belfast is in Northern Ireland- a region in the United Kingdom. deal with it."
Who denied this? Nevertheless, it's also located on the island known as IRELAND, while over 40 per cent of the region of NI considers themselves Irish like everyone else and supports the Irish soccer team.
No wonder you're bored mate, it would seem that you live in your own world entirely devoid of reality.
Posted by Dublin | 07.12.09, 11:33 GMT
For goodness sakes... when will the roi supporters finally get it into their heads that the refs decision is final. They aint going nowhere and their pleading to be the 33rd team and then wanting to settle for a trophy of some kind instead wont wash with fifa at all. Not everything in life is fair, remember maradonnas hand of god ... similar situation but same outcome.
Dry ya eyes lads...
Posted by bb | 04.12.09, 18:30 GMT
Belfast is in Northern Ireland- a region in the United Kingdom. deal with it. god you're boring Dublin.
Posted by bored | 04.12.09, 13:23 GMT
"To all you french who are posting here. For BELFAST Telegraph read NORTHERN IRELAND"
Apologies to all those French (and other international) posters for this neanderthal, as you can see, there are still a number of geographically illiterate people out there who don't realize that Belfast is in Ireland. They're the same kind of people who claim that Northern Ireland, a region that is under United Kingdom control, is in "Britain" (sic).
Ignorez-le, le pauvre con ne se rend pas compte que tout le monde se fout de sa gueule. Merci a vous tous pour votre soutien et bonne chance en 2010.
Posted by Dublin | 03.12.09, 16:11 GMT
To all you french who are posting here. For BELFAST Telegraph read NORTHERN IRELAND.
If RoI had qualified in the same manner there would have been no cry from the Southerners to replay the match
Posted by Gaz | 03.12.09, 15:20 GMT
So, all that mess means that, from now, Irish football players will never, never cheat again ? Just to prove that cheat is a French habit and that all Irishmen are spotless ? Wake up sons of James Joyce, it is time to forget your hangover...
Posted by Raskol, New Caledonia | 27.11.09, 10:26 GMT
With a tongue firmly in the cheek, I announced that I was never going on holiday to France ever again.
Hearing the comments from French people on here gives me a lot of respect for them. Well done guys and good luck in South Africa. I will probably be in a caravan in France!
Posted by Steve S | 25.11.09, 11:17 GMT
Bouic- "I have never seen a pro footballer tell the referee he has committed a foul..."
Robbie Fowler came close when he admitted that a tackle was not a penalty after the referee had awarded it. As I recall he was roundly vilified for his actions by many.
LS
Posted by Laura Sales | 23.11.09, 19:48 GMT
As an Irishman I´d like to say thank you to all those English people who have come out in support of ROI after this woeful treatment at the hands of FIFA and its cronies. I sincerely hope that France come up against England in the group stages and that England hammer them. Come on England!
Posted by robin | 23.11.09, 17:35 GMT
Very sorry for Henry's hand. We were ridiculous on the field and Henry made that act moreover. You know we have lost our identity in our country and the result is here today because of money and only money. You've got valors and honor. You fight with your football team and even it's hard too to live in Ireland i can say you it's worse in France today...
Posted by jj | 23.11.09, 10:24 GMT
what goes round comes round all you irish supporters laughed at maradonnas hand of god now same thing has happened to you . took a long time but now i,m laughin lmao
Posted by jim bennett | 23.11.09, 04:27 GMT
Longlife to Irish soccer. I'm French and so happy to read other French support lines to a replay match. We dont deserve to qualify this way. It's seems a majority of us Frogs want a fair replay. How can we put pressure for that?
Posted by jahan, Rennes | 22.11.09, 21:33 GMT
Ireland has had a tough time of it from us French. First of all our President refused to accept your "No" to the Lisbon Treaty (which his own citizens had also rejected). As a minnow-state you had to vote again until you said yes. Then FIFA decides to overule your clear victory in the qualification for the football World Cup. I'm afraid this is a taste of things to come. Inrernational federal institutions have been created over our heads to impose the will of BIG states over the tiddlers. Sounds like imperialism? Yes, but YOU voted for it! Don't say you were not warned.
Posted by Paul Henri Cadier | 22.11.09, 19:14 GMT
Hello ! I'm french.
I'm ashamed that France has been qualificated. Ireland had to go to World Wie Cup and not France.
Lots of French people agree to play the match again.
Fifa has to be ashamed f it and also the french fooball federation.
Irish players and irish public have been very fairplay. They must be proud of it !
alain
Posted by Guédon Alain , Laval | 21.11.09, 17:59 GMT
Hi everybody,
I'm French and don't think we are proud of this. Most of us feel ashamed by the behaviour of our team and their managers.
The French team has no coach and no tactics. Your team really deserves to win. I really want us to replay this game.
Football - especially French football - forgets its fundamental worths : respect, fair-play, honesty, courage. Nowaday, it's only a matter of grand. But what can we do to improve this ? We are so powerless. Maybe we should ask the FIFA to allow video reccording referring like in Rugby.
French football was bearable so far and with Henrys hand it's a shadow of its former self.
I can assure you a lot of French will support you for you to replay the match.
We really appreciate Irish people and hate the behaviour of our team. We really apologize.
Best regards
Vive l'équipe d'Irlande !!
Posted by Vivian Houzelot,. Lyon | 21.11.09, 14:21 GMT
say to Robbie Keane do you remenber irland georgie OK
Posted by pattfcn, paris | 21.11.09, 10:43 GMT
If the Thierry Henri goal had been rightly disallowed, that was not the end of the game. Penalty shoot out would have followed to decide the qualifier and there is no way to say that Eire would have qualified on penalties.
Let us say that the ref and assistants are the only ones to blame.
I have never seen a pro footballer tell the referee that he has committed a foul specially when it comes to diving, off-sides and ball handling. Thierry Henri has committed a fault which has not been sanctioned. That happens very often in all soccer matches.
Posted by Bouic, Poste de Flacq | 21.11.09, 08:06 GMT
Robbie Keane said that it was typical of the decisions that go in favour of what he said were the bigger football countries.
Robbie Keane ne doit pas se souvenir du match Irelande Georgie et du premier but Irlandais. La tricherie et la démagogie sont aujourd'hui la marque du football moderne. C'est triste mais révélateur de ce qu'est devenu le football.
La france ne méritait pas d'aller à la coupe du monde, soit. Mais à quand une réforme de l'arbitrage et la vidéo comme au rugby? C'est plutôt cette question qui devrait être posée. Avec la vidéo, le but de Gallas était invalidé, le pénalty de l'irlande contre la Géorgie n'aurait pas été sifflé non plus. Désolé pour l'équipe d'Irlande, vous méritiez sur ce match d'aller en afrique du sud, mais désolé aussi de lire des déclarations de joueurs qui retrouvent leur vertue lorsqu'ils sont lésés et oublient de parler lorsqu'un fait de jeu tourne en leur faveur. Triste football.
Posted by Eric | 21.11.09, 07:47 GMT
Henry is a disgrace to himself, to Barcelona and to France. He pontificates about fair play and racism. He and his coach have shamed football. You are in the same cheating league as Maradona. You will share his disgrace. Shame on you! I feel sorry for young kids who looked up to you. You are a role model for the cheat. I will be supporting England in the World Cup.
Posted by Henry Gibson | 21.11.09, 00:32 GMT
483 Comments