Thierry Henry ‘wanted a rematch’ after infamous France handball vs Ireland

You will never find Thierry Henry enjoying a pint of Guinness in any Irish bar – in fact, he would be lucky to get let in at all.

The Arsenal and Barcelona legend, 46, was one of the most beloved and popular footballers on the planet when he was at his best. However, in Ireland, he will forever be remembered for being at the centre of one of the worst refereeing decisions ever seen in the history of the sport.

In the 2010 World Cup qualifying play-offs, Henry used his hand to control a ball whipped into the back-post, not once, but twice, before prodding the ball back for William Gallas to score the goal that ended Ireland's hopes of reaching South Africa. But while it would have been little consolation for the Irish, whose last World Cup appearance was 2002, the French football legend publicly urged FIFA to arrange a replay.

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"I have said at the time and I will say again that, yes, I handled the ball. I am not a cheat and never have been," Henry said soon after the game. "It was an instinctive reaction to a ball that was coming extremely fast in a crowded penalty area.

"As a footballer you do not have the luxury of the television to slow the pace of the ball down 100 times to be able to make a conscious decision. People are viewing a slow motion version of what happened and not what I or any other footballer faces in the game. If people look at it in full speed you will see that it was an instinctive reaction. It is impossible to be anything other than that.

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"I have never denied that the ball was controlled with my hand. I told the Irish players, the referee and the media this after the game. Naturally I feel embarrassed at the way that we won and feel extremely sorry for the Irish who definitely deserve to be in South Africa.

"Of course the fairest solution would be to replay the game but it is not in my control. There is little more I can do apart from admit that the ball had contact with my hand leading up to our equalising goal and I feel very sorry for the Irish."

FIFA refused Ireland's request to replay the match, insisting the referee and their assistants' decision is final and that agreeing to a replay would open the floodgates for other future situations where teams would demand a replay because of an error. Ireland fans may have had a small slimmer of joy when they watched France finish rock-bottom of their World Cup group

After drawing 0-0 with Uruguay, they fell to consecutive defeats against Mexico and tournament hosts South Africa.

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