Arsenal legend Henry admits: It was hand-ball
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry admits he handled the ball to send France to the World Cup last night.
A controversial extra-time equaliser from William Gallas, who headed in Henry's pass to make it 1-1, gave France a 2-1 aggregate win and broke Irish hearts in Paris.
"I will be honest, it was a handball," said Barcelona striker Henry, "but I'm not the ref. It would have been better to do it in another way, but as I said, I'm not the ref."
In an incident reminiscent of Diego Maradona's infamous Hand of God goal against England in 1986, Henry clearly handled twice to keep the ball in play in the build-up to the goal.
Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni said: "This is the biggest disappointment of my career. The referee (Swede Martin Hansson) had time to ask the linesman and then to ask Henry. He made a great mistake."
Ireland defender Richard Dunne said: "Henry admitted afterwards he handled it. We were cheated."