Official 2010 World Cup Qualifying Thread

[hugobomb]

this will once again prompt calls for Video refs to be brought in, but I expect Blatter to say something along the lines of 'This is exactly why we DON'T need video refs, if they were at this game then that goal would have been dis allowed and we could have lost France, which would have been reason enough to call the entire World Cup off'

[The Kraig]

Everybody is just overreacting.Yes Henry cheated,but come on,a World Cup place is at stake.Every player would've done that.It's just a part of football.One day they score against your favourite team with a handball and it's disgraceful,the other day your team wins with a dive and you're happy.That's it.

I really hope you're not British.

[ONO]

Everybody is just overreacting.Yes Henry cheated,but come on,a World Cup place is at stake.Every player would've done that.It's just a part of football.One day they score against your favourite team with a handball and it's disgraceful,the other day your team wins with a dive and you're happy.That's it.

Do you usually talk so much shit?

[Hobo]

Everybody is just overreacting.Yes Henry cheated,but come on,a World Cup place is at stake.Every player would've done that.It's just a part of football.One day they score against your favourite team with a handball and it's disgraceful,the other day your team wins with a dive and you're happy.That's it.

It's wrong no matter how it happens. It just comes down to luck. Henry was lucky that the linesmen didn't catch him and neither did the referee otherwise he'd have been sent off for deliberate hand ball. Even if an Irish player had done that it wouldn't have been right to do. The French national side is extremely lucky to be going to the World Cup, no matter what way you look at it it was wrong because it is against the rules of the game and he knowingly did it to give his team an advantage. There is no bones about it.

[ONO]

According to FIFA's match report it was simply a "bit of luck". What a bunch of deluded cronies. When will they stop sucking off Platini?

[ONO]

[Liam]

Good bit of control, that >_>

I didn't see the game, but saw it on the news when there was 5 minutes or so to go, and couldn't believe the goal was given.

Can't really find further words to explain how I feel, really pissed off that a poor French side has scummed their way to the World Cup.

[Hajjhowe]

Bosnia

Nice to see Russia screwed the pooch... Egypt losing is kind of a head scratcher too. I always think of them as one of the better African teams.

[Guest Raving Rich]

It's not the first time this cunt Henry cheated to help his country win. Remember at the last World Cup in the Semis against Portugal where he dived to win a penalty that would see them through to the Final? The proof in the pudding is below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI3uOFu8-WM

[therockbox]

Disappointing to hear so many people absolving Henry of any blame (especially players) and trying to pass this off as the fault of the officials. As long as this attitude exists - where players are given carte blanche to do whatever they want in order to con the referee, and it be left up to the officials to stop them - nothing will be done.

[Hobo]

It is really the fault of both player and official, the player for doing it. The officials for missing it. I'd like to know where the linesmen and referees were positioned at the time because I can't recall seeing such.

A friend of mine posted on Facebook about the Uzbekistan/Bahrain issue where the match was replayed due to a technical error by a referee.

I'm not sure that there is time or even if the FAI will complain but there seems to be grounds for them to appeal to FIFA to have it replayed or France forfeiting the match but I don't see it as likely to happen no matter how pissed off 90% of the country seems to be.

[Liam]

http://twitpic.com/q1n4w

Linesman's view

[IAceI]

Blame Henry. Blame the linesman. But sometimes the referee is just a scapegoat, I don't see how the referee could have done anything and why him refereeing the match is questioned because of this decision. The linesman's at fault because as you can see he has a good view of it, but I can't see the referee being at fault. Although apparently he did claim "100% the ball did not hit his hand," then the Irish players questioned him.

Gutted to see Bosnia go out, I'd liked to have seen Dzeko at the finals. Would have been good.

And normally I don't care for the "home nations" as it were, and I quite like France. But yeah, that's a massive injustice. I don't buy some of the comments after "Ireland would have gone to the World Cup instead," as it would have still been level but - what the hell can you do when other teams get that sort of preferential treatment that they can use all four limbs to their advantage.

[Adam]

It is really the fault of both player and official, the player for doing it. The officials for missing it. I'd like to know where the linesmen and referees were positioned at the time because I can't recall seeing such.

A friend of mine posted on Facebook about the Uzbekistan/Bahrain issue where the match was replayed due to a technical error by a referee.

I'm not sure that there is time or even if the FAI will complain but there seems to be grounds for them to appeal to FIFA to have it replayed or France forfeiting the match but I don't see it as likely to happen no matter how pissed off 90% of the country seems to be.

Well it seems the FAI are indeed going to appeal to Fifa, and they are gonna use that Bahrain/Uzbekistan match as back-up. The only thing is, the draw is in just two weeks time, they can't surely get an appeal won and a match replayed (if it went that way) in that space of time...the oNly way it'd be plausible would be if France and Ireland were expected to be drawn in the same pot at the World Cup, which I highly doubt.

[TCO]

The whole country is in uproar, it's a fucking disgrace, this is exactly the problem with the seeding of the play-offs, if a decision had to be made near the end of the game, the referee was always going to go against us. Platini got his way the French tosser, now his beloved group of Ponces can march on to the World Cup and no doubt get a top seed in the process. Pathetic.

That's not enough of a rant, I can't believe how furious I am, I could barely sleep last night after it. If this game isn't replayed then I've lost all faith in FIFA and I say we pull out of all future FIFA competitions. I rather not see country compete, if it's under their blatantly corrupt system.

[ONO]

In more light-hearted news, the Prime Minister of Slovenia has stuck to his promise, and has cleaned the boots of the players after they qualified. What a gent.

[Adam]

As angry as I also am over this whole thing, I do have to laugh at people blaming Platini just because he's Fench, and are attributing the seedings thing to him...he's the head of UEFA, and this is a FIFA tournament. The decision to seed the play-offs (a bad one in everyones opinion it seems) was made by Sepp & friends at FIFA.

[TCO]

As angry as I also am over this whole thing, I do have to laugh at people blaming Platini just because he's Fench, and are attributing the seedings thing to him...he's the head of UEFA, and this is a FIFA tournament. The decision to seed the play-offs (a bad one in everyones opinion it seems) was made by Sepp & friends at FIFA.

So the head of UEFA and ex world-class footballer will have no influence at all on what FIFA do with the UEFA qualifying section of the World Cup? Considering the decision to seed the play-offs was made only after it was evident France weren't going to get automatic qualification.

[Liam]

The whole country is in uproar, it's a fucking disgrace, this is exactly the problem with the seeding of the play-offs, if a decision had to be made near the end of the game, the referee was always going to go against us.

Surely the issue is Henry cheating, rather than the referee giving a decision against you? Clearly the referee didn't see it properly, because no referee wouldn't have penalised Henry if they'd have seen the incident properly. He couldn't exactly take the Irish players word for it that there was a handball if he hasn't actually seen the handball itself.

Don't get me wrong, the seedings were bollocks, but not for the reasons you are suggesting IMO. If the referee was looking to give a decision to the 'bigger' team, from the sounds of it he had his chance with the Given/Anelka moment (which admittedly I haven't seen), but he got the decision right apparently.

[Hobo]

Liam makes a good point. There were chances (in both games in fact) where Shay Given could've been involved in giving away penalties but it wasn't given. The referee didn't go against Ireland in either case. There is no reason to suggest he would've done so at any other point.