Mr. Keane’s antics of the past notwithstanding, let’s keep our eye on the er, ball/hand…
Let’s not forget that prior to the hand ball incident, it does appear that two of Les Bleus were offside.
Never good form to blame the victims of a crime. :-P
(Mr. Keane shan’t be having any ales bought for him in the short term in Dublin however with his talking points… maybe that was Sepp Blatter on the phone:-D)
I’m sorry Podunkian, but in this day an age of public relations guided interviews, Keane’s take on it is refreshing. As he said, there is bending of the rules all the time. In this case, the officials made the mistake and that is where the problem lies. Henry regrets that move (just check his reaction after- head down, sitting down talking with an Irish player)but I also think that it was part instinct.
He might go a bit far by with his critics of the defense and goaltender but is he wrong? In an important game like that, you take no chances. The two French players in the alleged offside position should have been checked. What were the defenders doing? Watching the ball instead of watching their men?
Referees mistakes like this should be reviewed by video. That is where the blame lies.
I am not a soccer fan, but here is my take.
A hockey rink is about 200 feet by 85 feet. There are four officials, 25% of the skaters.
A soccer pitch (hey I know my vocab) is about 330 feet by 225 feet. With a referee and two linesmen (who aren’t even on the field) , 12% of the participants are officiating. In other words, soccer has half the equivalent officials for a field of play 4-5 times bigger.
A simple goal judge like they used to have in hockey (until video replay) might have prevented all this.
There are missed calls in hockey (hello Brett Hull) but often there is enough time to compensate. In soccer where one goal is often the game - well good luck.
And I don’t know why any of this is pointed at the French guy. What’s he supposed to do? Go to the referee and say, “That ball bounced off my hand old chum. Better change the call.”
The Europa League (successor to the UEFA cup) is experimenting with a couple more referees. One behind each goal. That will help.
But the loss here goes to Ireland because they were sloppy, not because Henry cheated. The ball shouldn’t have been there on the first place.
[quote=“MiG”]
But the loss here goes to Ireland because they were sloppy, not because Henry cheated. The ball shouldn’t have been there on the first place.[/quote]
Might as well award a goal for every time the ball comes within a certain distance of the net, then. 
From my point of view, I was outraged by this blatant cheat of a Frenchmen. I heard about it on the radio, watched the goal on YouTube, overcame my outrage, and watched soccer compilations for 40 minutes. Soccer gained a fan that day.
It would have happened that way in curling!
[quote=“eccentric”]
Soccer gained a fan that day.[/quote]
Get GolTV! Spanish, German, MLS, Brasilian and often other leagues. The commentary on the Liga games is worth the price of GolTV!
Unfortunately you can’t smoke and drink while playing soccer either 
Ah the good old days. A couple of years ago I went to a Portuguese Cup soccer game with my father. He was very disappointed that there was no alcohol allowed in the stadium, and they only sold non-alcohol beer.
What?!
Hey paella man ! Over here!
#1 reason to watch La Liga on GolTV: Ray Hudson. I have no idea what the hell he is talking about half the time. He gets all excited and his accent takes over, and then he mixes his already bizarre metaphors and you have no idea what he’s saying.
Here’s a video of him praising the players last weekend.
And just a random one from a few weeks ago: