Keane blasts Blatter, Platini

[Red-4-Life]

Robbie Keane hit out at the presidents of FIFA and UEFA following the Republic of Ireland's exit from the World Cup race, claiming they would be 'delighted' that France had gone through thanks to a hugely controversial winning goal.

Striker Thierry Henry clearly handled the ball before squaring it across goal for William Gallas to net the winner after Republic skipper Keane had levelled the aggregate score in the first half of the play-off second leg in Paris.

And Keane claims FIFA president Sepp Blatter and his UEFA counterpart Michel Platini got the result they would have wanted.

He told BBC Radio Five Live: "They're all probably clapping hands, Platini sitting up there on the phone to Sepp Blatter, probably texting each other, delighted with the result."

The Tottenham forward also criticised the late decision to seed the play-off ties when it emerged that established football powers such as France, Portugal and at one stage Germany could be involved.

Keane said: "Germany had a chance of being in the (play-offs) as well. With two massive countries there's no way in a million years is there going to be a fair draw."

Henry's handball was another incident in support of video evidence being used during matches to help referees.

He added: "He (Henry) nearly caught it, so it's a bit of a killer. When you see the reaction of the players, (goalkeeper) Shay (Given) especially, he's two yards away from it."

"You don't get a reaction like that if he's not sure it's a handball. He almost caught it and ran into the net with it."

Henry admitted the ball did strike his hand and claims he told the referee, who chose to allow the goal to stand.

The Barcelona striker said: "The ball hit my hand, I will be honest. It was a handball, you can clearly see it. (Sebastien) Squillaci went to jump with two Irish players, I was behind him and the next thing I know the ball hit my hand."

"It was a handball, but I'm not the ref. I told (the referee) but he said to me the same: 'You are not the ref.'"


www.sportal.com.au/football

haha, good on ya Robbie

[COLOSSUS]

So not only did Henry admit to it after the game, but he ALSO ADMITTED IT TO THE REF DURING THE GAME and the ref chose to ignore Henrys comments. So can we now reinstore Henrys credibility and attack the refs because like i said from the start, its the ref to blame here and nobody else. Now you sooks can stop crying and apologise to Henry who clearly accidentally handled the ball and then admitted as much to the referee who told him "im in charge here" or something to that extent.

As for Robbie Keane, i can understand his dissapointment but he has brought the game into disrepute and should be punished accordingly. To have a dig at the governing body is ludicrous considering there were no remarks towards the officials who were put in charge of that particular game. I dont mind bad losers but he is a sore loser and thats totally different. If you hadnt missed so many easy chances, maybe just maybe you wouldnt be complaining you imbacile. Pffft

[yogi]

So not only did Henry admit to it after the game, but he ALSO ADMITTED IT TO THE REF DURING THE GAME and the ref chose to ignore Henrys comments. So can we now reinstore Henrys credibility and attack the refs because like i said from the start, its the ref to blame here and nobody else. Now you sooks can stop crying and apologise to Henry who clearly accidentally handled the ball and then admitted as much to the referee who told him "im in charge here" or something to that extent.

As for Robbie Keane, i can understand his dissapointment but he has brought the game into disrepute and should be punished accordingly. To have a dig at the governing body is ludicrous considering there were no remarks towards the officials who were put in charge of that particular game. I dont mind bad losers but he is a sore loser and thats totally different. If you hadnt missed so many easy chances, maybe just maybe you wouldnt be complaining you imbacile. Pffft

Your joking Colossus,,,,,,,,,,,,,Henry deliberately hand balled it, it wasn't just a stick the hand out and stop it from going for a goal kick, it was a stick the hand out and push the ball in the direction of his feet so he could cross the ball.
Did henry REALLy tell the ref, he handled the ball, that is the question.
I just seen Henry, running off celebrating the goal.
Bad sportsmanship in my eyes.

You get that in sport, but Ireland must move on from it now.................

[COLOSSUS]

So not only did Henry admit to it after the game, but he ALSO ADMITTED IT TO THE REF DURING THE GAME and the ref chose to ignore Henrys comments. So can we now reinstore Henrys credibility and attack the refs because like i said from the start, its the ref to blame here and nobody else. Now you sooks can stop crying and apologise to Henry who clearly accidentally handled the ball and then admitted as much to the referee who told him "im in charge here" or something to that extent.

As for Robbie Keane, i can understand his dissapointment but he has brought the game into disrepute and should be punished accordingly. To have a dig at the governing body is ludicrous considering there were no remarks towards the officials who were put in charge of that particular game. I dont mind bad losers but he is a sore loser and thats totally different. If you hadnt missed so many easy chances, maybe just maybe you wouldnt be complaining you imbacile. Pffft

Your joking Colossus,,,,,,,,,,,,,Henry deliberately hand balled it, it wasn't just a stick the hand out and stop it from going for a goal kick, it was a stick the hand out and push the ball in the direction of his feet so he could cross the ball.
Did henry REALLy tell the ref, he handled the ball, that is the question.
I just seen Henry, running off celebrating the goal.
Bad sportsmanship in my eyes.

You get that in sport, but Ireland must move on from it now.................

Please dont ask me whether i would believe a player over a referee because thats a no brainer He says he admitted it, i believe him and so should you. I know your upset but like i said in another post, if the Irish had taken their chances, that hand ball wouldnt have even rated a mention so its time to let it go, diving, hand balls, bad challenges and shirt pulling are all part of Football, the sooner you accept those facts the better off some of you will be

[swannsong]

SAINT-DENIS, France -- France striker Thierry Henry admits he intentionally handled the ball to set up William Gallas' equalizing goal, sending France to the World Cup at Ireland's expense after an intense 1-1 draw Wednesday.

With Ireland leading 1-0 and the match level on aggregate deep into the first period of extra time, France won a free kick and Henry twice handled the ball -- stopping it going out of play, then controlling it -- in setting up Gallas for a header.

After the match, the Barcelona striker said Swedish referee Martin Hansson was the main culprit for not spotting the infringement.

"I will be honest, it was a handball. But I'm not the ref," Henry said. "I played it. The ref allowed it. That's a question you should ask him."

A bit different to "telling the referee he hand balled it...methinks.

[COLOSSUS]

Henry admitted the ball did strike his hand and claims he told the referee, who chose to allow the goal to stand.

The Barcelona striker said: "The ball hit my hand, I will be honest. It was a handball, you can clearly see it. (Sebastien) Squillaci went to jump with two Irish players, I was behind him and the next thing I know the ball hit my hand."

"It was a handball, but I'm not the ref. I told (the referee) but he said to me the same: 'You are not the ref.'"


www.sportal.com.au/football

Hope this helps swanny

[swannsong]

Henry admitted the ball did strike his hand and claims he told the referee, who chose to allow the goal to stand.

The Barcelona striker said: "The ball hit my hand, I will be honest. It was a handball, you can clearly see it. (Sebastien) Squillaci went to jump with two Irish players, I was behind him and the next thing I know the ball hit my hand."

"It was a handball, but I'm not the ref. I told (the referee) but he said to me the same: 'You are not the ref.'"


http://www.sportal.com.au/football

Hope this helps swanny

Now be honest here COL, if the same incident happened to you in your playing days, would you tell the referee ????

[COLOSSUS]

Henry admitted the ball did strike his hand and claims he told the referee, who chose to allow the goal to stand.

The Barcelona striker said: "The ball hit my hand, I will be honest. It was a handball, you can clearly see it. (Sebastien) Squillaci went to jump with two Irish players, I was behind him and the next thing I know the ball hit my hand."

"It was a handball, but I'm not the ref. I told (the referee) but he said to me the same: 'You are not the ref.'"


http://www.sportal.com.au/football

Hope this helps swanny

Now be honest here COL, if the same incident happened to you in your playing days, would you tell the referee ????

I dont see how that is relevant to this situation swanny. Are you implying all players are dishonest or all have the same character??? What one player does doesnt necessarily mean another would also do, thats an unfair question and what i think you are implying is also grossly unfair

[DOC]

i think we found out how big a tool collosus really is in this thread, of course he didn't tell the ref he ran off celebrating, and this is the french captain...

keano junior has it spot on, platini is french so of course he loves it and prob decided the seeding once france were garaunteed a play off spot, its a disgrace... game should be replayed there is that much contraversy to it, and at least these days, unlike 86, we have the technology to erradicate these refereeing errors from the game...

collosus i find it rich you saying keano is bringing the game into disrepute, what has henry done, he created this media storm, he should be banned after the fact like eduardo was...

[COLOSSUS]

i think we found out how big a tool collosus really is in this thread, of course he didn't tell the ref he ran off celebrating, and this is the french captain...

keano junior has it spot on, platini is french so of course he loves it and prob decided the seeding once france were garaunteed a play off spot, its a disgrace... game should be replayed there is that much contraversy to it, and at least these days, unlike 86, we have the technology to erradicate these refereeing errors from the game...

collosus i find it rich you saying keano is bringing the game into disrepute, what has henry done, he created this media storm, he should be banned after the fact like eduardo was...

Im a tool because i have different opinion to you right??? Mate, dont agree with my opinion thats fine, but to call me a tool for it makes you look like the clown. As the French Captain did you expect Henry to do whatever it takes to lead his team into the WC finals??? If the answer is no, then i hope you never captain any team, your playstation one included

Robbie Keane DID bring the game into disrepute by bagging everyone that was indirectly involved with the game. To bag the governing body is ludicrous considering a) they never handled the ball and b) they didnt make the decision to allow the goal to stand, if you cant see that then it is you who is the tool

Henry didnt create anything, Keane and people like you did. If the Republic of Ireland took its chances, then the hand ball in question wouldnt have even rated a mention. After you finish accusing Henry, maybe look to the officials, and failing that, look to Keane and his scoring buddies who failed to capitalise on their more than enough chances, or is that Henrys fault as well???

[swannsong]

Now be honest here COL, if the same incident happened to you in your playing days, would you tell the referee ????

I dont see how that is relevant to this situation swanny. Are you implying all players are dishonest or all have the same character??? What one player does doesnt necessarily mean another would also do, thats an unfair question and what i think you are implying is also grossly unfair

OK, I'll put the onus on myself....as a goalkeeper, If I made a save that was behind the goal line and the referee waived play on, I certainly wouldn't be running up to the referee and telling him it was definitely in !
However, my action ( or reaction to save the ball) would have been part of a normal reaction within the laws of the game.
Deliberate hand ball is not within the laws of the game.

Whatever Henry did, like Maradona, it takes his country into the next round.....
I guess the question is, with all the money that Ireland will lose, and in this day and age where sportsmen are drug tested and stripped of their honours if testing positive.....should FIFA take further action ?

[COLOSSUS]

Now be honest here COL, if the same incident happened to you in your playing days, would you tell the referee ????

I dont see how that is relevant to this situation swanny. Are you implying all players are dishonest or all have the same character??? What one player does doesnt necessarily mean another would also do, thats an unfair question and what i think you are implying is also grossly unfair

OK, I'll put the onus on myself....as a goalkeeper, If I made a save that was behind the goal line and the referee waived play on, I certainly wouldn't be running up to the referee and telling him it was definitely in !
However, my action ( or reaction to save the ball) would have been part of a normal reaction within the laws of the game.
Deliberate hand ball is not within the laws of the game.

Whatever Henry did, like Maradona, it takes his country into the next round.....

Is it not YOUR perception it was hand ball??? Deliberate hand ball is not within the laws of the game but who determines its deliberate??? Thats the referee does and he didnt even consider it a handball so all the bitching in the world aint going to change that fact. Also if the referee is the one who determines a hand ball and its deliberateness, then why are you not questioning his credibility but rather Henrys??? You guys are funny. Lets call Henry a cheat but dont question the ref, it aint his fault in any way

And thanks for admitting that you would cheat, nice to know

[swannsong]

Whatever Henry did, like Maradona, it takes his country into the next round.....

Is it not YOUR perception it was hand ball??? Deliberate hand ball is not within the laws of the game but who determines its deliberate??? Thats the referee does and he didnt even consider it a handball so all the bitching in the world aint going to change that fact. Also if the referee is the one who determines a hand ball and its deliberateness, then why are you not questioning his credibility but rather Henrys??? You guys are funny. Lets call Henry a cheat but dont question the ref, it aint his fault in any way

And thanks for admitting that you would cheat, nice to know

No admission of cheating, my actions or reaction, as I explained, is part of a goalkeeper's normal actions (within the laws of the game) I admitted that I would not run up to the referee and tell him, why, because referees don't like players telling them they got something wrong....

[COLOSSUS]

Whatever Henry did, like Maradona, it takes his country into the next round.....

Is it not YOUR perception it was hand ball??? Deliberate hand ball is not within the laws of the game but who determines its deliberate??? Thats the referee does and he didnt even consider it a handball so all the bitching in the world aint going to change that fact. Also if the referee is the one who determines a hand ball and its deliberateness, then why are you not questioning his credibility but rather Henrys??? You guys are funny. Lets call Henry a cheat but dont question the ref, it aint his fault in any way

And thanks for admitting that you would cheat, nice to know

No admission of cheating, my actions or reaction, as I explained, is part of a goalkeeper's normal actions (within the laws of the game) I admitted that I would not run up to the referee and tell him, why, because referees don't like players telling them they got something wrong....

So let me get this rigth swanny. Your not a cheat but rather its part of a goalkeepers reaction to save the ball even thouhg it has crossed the line??? Ok then!!! So is it fair to say then that the ball hit his hand which is not even a reaction because you cant stop a ball hitting your hand if a) you dont see it or b) you dont expect it or c) you dont have enough time to react to get your hand out the way??? Or is it just easier to blame Henry and call him a cheat because of ineot offcials and inept forwards/midfielders of a team??? I know what im leaning towards

[swannsong]

Hand of Frog
All I can offer as an argument is this vision.
This clip will probably vanish all too soon.
It seems to show they were offside too, but in no way are the hand balls accidental...the hand/arm is extended.

[DOC]

i think we found out how big a tool collosus really is in this thread, of course he didn't tell the ref he ran off celebrating, and this is the french captain...

keano junior has it spot on, platini is french so of course he loves it and prob decided the seeding once france were garaunteed a play off spot, its a disgrace... game should be replayed there is that much contraversy to it, and at least these days, unlike 86, we have the technology to erradicate these refereeing errors from the game...

collosus i find it rich you saying keano is bringing the game into disrepute, what has henry done, he created this media storm, he should be banned after the fact like eduardo was...

Im a tool because i have different opinion to you right??? Mate, dont agree with my opinion thats fine, but to call me a tool for it makes you look like the clown. As the French Captain did you expect Henry to do whatever it takes to lead his team into the WC finals??? If the answer is no, then i hope you never captain any team, your playstation one included

Robbie Keane DID bring the game into disrepute by bagging everyone that was indirectly involved with the game. To bag the governing body is ludicrous considering a) they never handled the ball and b) they didnt make the decision to allow the goal to stand, if you cant see that then it is you who is the tool

Henry didnt create anything, Keane and people like you did. If the Republic of Ireland took its chances, then the hand ball in question wouldnt have even rated a mention. After you finish accusing Henry, maybe look to the officials, and failing that, look to Keane and his scoring buddies who failed to capitalise on their more than enough chances, or is that Henrys fault as well???

i think this is the dumbest thing i have ever read, do you actually think about what you type, what if this happened to greece, you would be outraged...

keane has every right to speak out as he is captain and its a shocking call, FIFA wont do anything even if called to, and they have the power to, because they, and eufa got their way and got the big teams into the finals... i think the game should be annuled and replayed but this will never happen the ref should be blames, and linesman too, and not allowed near an international game for a least a year...

i would do anything it took as captain but i would not stoop to that level, diving and deliberate handballs like this are a disgrace on the game and i would never do either... henry brought all this attention to the game, and therefore he has brought the game into disrepute by cheating, no two ways around it, he is a cheat... deliberate handball is cheating...

[swannsong]

[COLOSSUS]

Im a tool because i have different opinion to you right??? Mate, dont agree with my opinion thats fine, but to call me a tool for it makes you look like the clown. As the French Captain did you expect Henry to do whatever it takes to lead his team into the WC finals??? If the answer is no, then i hope you never captain any team, your playstation one included

Robbie Keane DID bring the game into disrepute by bagging everyone that was indirectly involved with the game. To bag the governing body is ludicrous considering a) they never handled the ball and b) they didnt make the decision to allow the goal to stand, if you cant see that then it is you who is the tool

Henry didnt create anything, Keane and people like you did. If the Republic of Ireland took its chances, then the hand ball in question wouldnt have even rated a mention. After you finish accusing Henry, maybe look to the officials, and failing that, look to Keane and his scoring buddies who failed to capitalise on their more than enough chances, or is that Henrys fault as well???

i think this is the dumbest thing i have ever read, do you actually think about what you type, what if this happened to greece, you would be outraged...

keane has every right to speak out as he is captain and its a shocking call, FIFA wont do anything even if called to, and they have the power to, because they, and eufa got their way and got the big teams into the finals... i think the game should be annuled and replayed but this will never happen the ref should be blames, and linesman too, and not allowed near an international game for a least a year...

i would do anything it took as captain but i would not stoop to that level, diving and deliberate handballs like this are a disgrace on the game and i would never do either... henry brought all this attention to the game, and therefore he has brought the game into disrepute by cheating, no two ways around it, he is a cheat... deliberate handball is cheating...

Dumbest thing youve ever read??? You obviously dont proofread your own crap then before posting it
Yes i would of been upset if it happened to Greece no doubt, but i would take everything into consideration unlike you guys and at the end of the day thats football buddy.

Keane has no right to bag the governing body (thats up to Irelands governing body to talk to & not your captain) and he will be punished for doing so and rightly so in my opinion. Not the governing bodies fault that the referee and his assistant couldnt see the hand ball as it is not the Governing bodies fault that Ireland couldnt score the more than enough chances it had to win the bloody game. I agree that the linesman and the referee should never referee a game of that calibre for at least another year, ive been saying this for 15 years about inept referees

You also cant have it both ways, its either you would do ANYTHING as Captain or you wouldnt, theres no other in between options As for FIFA getting the big teams in the finals, thats a load of hoohaa, neither Greece nor Slovenia are big teams and Portugals success at any Football tournaments is not even as good as that of Greece so from all the teams that qualified through the playoffs in Europe, France are the only "big team" to get through although that couldve been different had Ireland scored its many wasted opportunities and thats not dumb, thats FACT

[COLOSSUS]

Fantastic footage there swanny, it clearly shows that the linesman had a 100% CLEAR VIEW WITH NO OBSTRUCTION in those images. If thats the case, then why didnt he flag for a) offside and/or b) hand ball??? Because he is inept, but ime guessing its still Henrys fault right???

[slowcoach]

Colosus

Keane was complaining about how the rules were changed by introducing seeding when it looked likely that some of the big teams might not qualify. Thats why he is having a go at FIFA/UEFA.

Seperate issue about the handball.

[slowcoach]

In the post match interview Henry said that it wasn't intentional. Although he was seen mouthing "I cheated" to Richard Dunne when they were sat on the ground after the match.
This was confirmed by Dunne and also Kilbane after the match .

I think it damage limitation by Henry.

[swannsong]

Fantastic footage there swanny, it clearly shows that the linesman had a 100% CLEAR VIEW WITH NO OBSTRUCTION in those images. If thats the case, then why didnt he flag for a) offside and/or b) hand ball??? Because he is inept, but ime guessing its still Henrys fault right???

I've never said there wasn't any "blame" on the Referee or Linesman...no doubt they will miss some games or be dropped down the rankings.
But the photos clearly show Henri extending out his arm/hand to gather the ball in.
However, what mechanisms are there in place for Henri's actions none, except he and France move on to the Cup Finals.

[Madridista612]

Wouldn't it be hilarious if France went on to win the World Cup...the world would talk about how they shouldn't have been there, how Platini is a corrupt little puppet in Blatter's monopoly of everything football and basically the whole footballing world would be in an uproar...more so than the infamous hand of God, purely because of Platini's position. It would be something but then again with that muppet Domenech at the helm, France have little to no chance...Spain and Brazil are the only 2 teams I can see lifting it, maybe Italy if theyre lucky.

[Nice One Cyril]

Just a note to Col. You're putting a lot of faith in Sportal who are notorious for publishing shite. Whilst Henry has come out after the game and admitted to handball (he doesn't say whether it was deliberate or not), Sportal are claiming it was immediately after the goal. Find us some video evidence of Henry running over to the referee after Gallas scored and your argument becomes a lot stronger. I can't find any.

Which means it's almost certainly rubbish.

[BADA BING]

4th official, refer this to him and its a no brainer and it would have taken a whole 10 seconds....next

[Nice One Cyril]

4th official, refer this to him and its a no brainer and it would have taken a whole 10 seconds....next

No brainer for everyone except FIFA.

[COLOSSUS]

Just a note to Col. You're putting a lot of faith in Sportal who are notorious for publishing shite. Whilst Henry has come out after the game and admitted to handball (he doesn't say whether it was deliberate or not), Sportal are claiming it was immediately after the goal. Find us some video evidence of Henry running over to the referee after Gallas scored and your argument becomes a lot stronger. I can't find any.

Which means it's almost certainly rubbish.

Refer to my post n the other topic about this. My whole point isnt on him admitting he touched the ball. I couldnt care less whether he did it intentionally or not, thats Football. Read the other reply to you on that other topic and there you will find my point

[blue moon]

colossus if you believe henry, how would you like to buy a part share of the sydney harbour bridge that i've been asked to manage the sale of.

dont know why you keep going on about the chances ireland missed thats got nothing to do with it, its really an issue about the context of the moment (extra time in a w/cup qualifier) and the sportsmanship of an individual at that moment. he's prepared to cheat and he got away with it. to me that reflects on what he is as a person. not excuses in this era of fair play - he makes a mockery of it. his integrity was put to the test and was showed for what it is. how he could look dunne in the eye, i dont know, he's cheated on his fellow professionals. For him to then put the onus on the referree is a cop out. good luck to him hope he enjoys his world cup, i for one hope he get snapped in the first 5-minutes.

wouldnt agree with a replay its basically just very poor referring, how they missed the offiside is as bad as the handball and unfortunately this is football - but he would have shown himself to be a true sportsman if he owned up to the referree.

[BillShankly]

well in robbie!

[getborn]

Wouldn't it be hilarious if France went on to win the World Cup...the world would talk about how they shouldn't have been there, how Platini is a corrupt little puppet in Blatter's monopoly of everything football and basically the whole footballing world would be in an uproar...more so than the infamous hand of God, purely because of Platini's position. It would be something but then again with that muppet Domenech at the helm, France have little to no chance...Spain and Brazil are the only 2 teams I can see lifting it, maybe Italy if theyre lucky.

a madrid supporter, its sure been a while.