Swedish referee Martin Hansson denies the Irish a World Cup berth.

Mr. Henry, by all accounts an honorable player who was once the FIFA player of the year, had this to say about the encounter:

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. It was an instinctive reaction to a ball that was coming extremely fast in a crowded penalty area.  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. There is little more I can do apart from admit that the ball had contact with my hand leading up to our equalizing goal and I feel very sorry for the Irish.