Izdihar - Magic Kingdom Escapology

I'm sure I can't be the only one who has written about this one over the course of the last 24 hours, certainly not if you're a sports journalist. Can I be the only one who is mightily disappointed in the actions of Thierry Henry? I doubt it very much.

Last night's game between France and the Republic of Ireland is something I can only view as a travesty of fair play in sport. I want to see my own team (Stoke City) win as much as the next red & white bedecked fan, but I really detest seeing it done in a win at all costs fashion as happened last night. To Thierry Henry it would seem that the end justifies the means, fair play, dignity and respect for the opposition all gone out of the window, not only in his only partly instinctive reaction at the time, but in his comments afterwards, when surely, he would have had the opportunity to reflect on what he knew he had done. There was a time not so long back when having this particular Frenchman's name on a Stoke City team sheet would have been a dream come true, but no longer. His reputation as a sportsman is no longer intact, his name tarnished forever as a consequence of one game. "Sir, you are a cheat and a disgrace to your profession", have no doubt of it.

FIFA will inevitably find a way of glossing over this and carrying on as if nothing had happened. How can they possibly continue to prolong their stance that video replays have no place in the game of football? By what right do they continue to say that the referee's decision on the pitch is final when it's plain to see for millions of TV viewers and a significant proportion of the crowd, that the referee was either wrong, or unsighted at the crucial moment? It would take no longer to consult a video replay than it would to deal with a bunch of angry and emotional players who know they've been conned by their opposition. It works in rugby, it works in tennis, it works in the NFL, why oh why can't it work in the worlds most popular sport? Can they truly be said to be answering that? After last night, the jury can no longer be said to be out...