Hand of God Part Deux…

01_cheat_350x475_931628aThierry Henry is one of the world’s greatest football players. He is undoubtedly one of the best to have played in the Premier League. He has dazzled us with his beautiful football for many years. He has played for some of the world’s biggest football clubs. Last night, he showed us an ugly side to his game. He did something that we are all taught not to do from a young age. He cheated. In fact, he did more than that. He ripped out the hearts of a nation and robbed Ireland of a chance to make it to the World Cup Finals.

I wonder if Thierry Henry can look at himself in the mirror today? And if he can, I wonder what he sees? When I see Henry now, I don’t see the legend. I don’t see the magician. I see a cheat. I see a man who was unable to use his God given talent to help his country win. Instead he stooped to Maradona’s level and just like the Argentine superstar robbed England in the 1986 World Cup with his infamous Hand of God, Henry has now done the same. This time, Ireland are the victims. Since 1986, Maradona’s image has been tarnished because of his actions. People never saw him in the same light and I think Henry will suffer the same consequences.

Millions of football fans around the world saw what happened on the pitch last night. If we could all see it, then why couldn’t the officials? Was this the work of fat cat Blatter and Plantini the snob? Did the executives who head-up our football governing body want to ensure France made it to the World Cup Finals? When something like this happens, we can’t help but think there is something else to it. The handball was so blatant. It was so obvious. It was so disgusting. It shouldn’t have been the deciding factor on such an important night.

Sure Ireland had their chances. They could have finished off the game, but they didn’t. And who knows if they would have won the penalty shoot-out. The point is they were never given the opportunity to get to that point because of an incredibly bad decision by the officials. Boyhood dreams were shattered because someone didn’t do their job. These players have worked hard and tirelessly for their country. It’s more than just the incident itself. It goes beyond what happened on the pitch. I believe a fair result would be for FIFA to arrange a replay of the game. It would set a precedent and perhaps going down this road would open a can of football worms, but surely someone has to be accountable for what happened. The World Cup only comes around every 4 years. The process for qualifying takes 2 years. And in a split second, an entire football team and nation were robbed of the dreams they’ve shared for years as kids and adults.

Did anyone believe we would see the Hand of God Part Deux?

Classless in Chelsea…

48343_newsChelsea might be based in one of London’s poshest areas, but some of their players certainly didn’t display any etiquette or class at the end of the Champions League game against Barcelona last night. There’s no question the referee made some horrible decisions. For Chelsea it must have been like a heavyweight title fight having to sustain one bad blow after the other. But if you are a professional footballer being paid six figures a week by a team like Chelsea, you need to behave better than that.

Referee Tom Henning Ovrebo will need a bodyguard next time he’s cruising down the King’s Road. And he better not run into Michael Ballack or Didier Drogba in a dark alley anytime soon. Drogba’s behaviour was disgusting. The world witnessed a foul-mouth attack by a player who has phoned-in his performances this season. When Scolari was manager he practically rolled over and gave-up. Despite his bad relationship with Scolari, he couldn’t even make the effort out on the pitch for his team mates. He let them down. And now he’s crying Blue tears. What a fake. Do you think he’ll play for Chelsea next season? Not likely…

Ballack’s display was no better. Following another controversial penalty decision by the muppet officials, Mr.Germany  chased the referee halfway down the pitch screaming his head off and spitting blood. It was pure venom and a lovely visual for every aspiring young soccer star and fan to see. He has been such a waste of valuable space this season. Chelsea would do well to get rid of this over-pampered, over-paid has been.

You know I’ve never been a big fan of John Terry, but on Wednesday night he won me over. Sure he questioned the referee, but he kept his head. Over the two legs he was a great leader. He was also the only Chelsea player to congratulate Barcelona for their victory. Terry went into their dressing room to shake their hand. Perhaps there is one player that can still walk down the King’s Road with his head held high.

As for the referee. You should be voted the worse referee in the history of the game. You stunk up Stamford Bridge with your obvious bad decisions. You gave football an ugly name last night. You made people think you were on the take. We hope you are not on the take. Perhaps people should be asking Monsieur Platini some serious questions…