27 March 2023 , 20:33
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Richard Dunne claimed Thierry Henry's gesture after his infamous handball against the Republic of Ireland was so that he could look like "a nice guy".
The Frenchman secured his country a spot at the World Cup in 2010, breaking Irish hearts in the process. Les Blues led their two-legged play-off 1-0 after winning in Dublin, only to get pegged back at the Stade de France. In extra-time William Gallas settled the game, but only after a sly assist from Henry.
The then Barcelona forward handled the ball to stop it going out of play, which was missed by the referee. Irish players immediately appealed but the goal was awarded. Henry famously sat on the turf alongside Dunne after the final whistle, but he wasn't impressed by his show.
Dunne told L'Equipe: "He felt regret and told me he had handballed it. I was thinking, 'why are you telling me this?' Could you not have told the referee a few minutes ago? It was a difficult moment for me because I was dejected from our elimination, and his admission made it even worse for me."
The defender was quizzed on whether he'd have done the same thing and added: "Absolutely not (I wouldn't have done the same thing). What Henry did at that moment was a bit of showmanship. A way to show that he was a nice guy and that he wanted to apologise… It was nonsense."
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Ireland wrote to FIFA requesting a replay, but that was swiftly rejected as the sport's governing body claimed in a statement: "As is clearly mentioned in the Laws of the Game, during matches, decisions are taken by the referee and these decisions are final."
The Frenchman's infamous handball set-up the vital goal (Sky Sports)Patrice Evra was part of the French side that qualified on that night in 2009, but admits there was little celebrating going on at full-time. Despite their achievement, few wanted to win in such a manner with the dressing room largely silent.
He admitted: "I was behind (the play). I think I wasn't too far away. Our reaction on the pitch was that we didn't see it. To be honest with you, I didn't know. I found out later when I saw the replay and the handball, but during the game, I didn't know it was a handball. When we saw the replay in the dressing room, it was silence.
"There wasn't laughing or anything like that. It was so weird because when you had the feeling like you just didn't qualify for the World Cup because we were like 'what's going on?' That room was like silence. There wasn't any celebration. You would like to win in a better way."