In 2009, a hand from Thierry Henry allowed the France team to qualify for the 2010 World Cup at the expense of Ireland. A country that the Blues face Monday in Dublin.
“God’s hand.” Remember this headline The Team. On November 14, 2009, the France team qualified for the South African World Cup against Ireland in Dublin, thanks to an action tainted by a voluntary hand from Thierry Henry. Enough to create the beginning of an international scandal, in which French politicians got involved. Roselyne Bachelot, Minister of Youth and Sports, said she was torn between “cowardly relief and great concern”.
The foreign media had overwhelmed Henry and Irish newspapers reported “the hand of the devil”. Fourteen years after this episode, while the France team goes to Dublin during the Euro 2024 qualifiers, have the Irish forgiven the Blues? “We didn’t want to be seen as sore losers forever, so we moved on,” assures Gavin Cummiskey, journalist for The Irish Timeswho does not expect a particular welcome from the French on Monday evening. “But it really hurt for several years”adds the journalist.
Thierry Henry, the main target
At the time, Ireland had not participated in an international competition since the 2002 World Cup. And seeing the disastrous performance of the Blues in South Africa – tainted by the bus strike in Knysna – must have stirred up the resentment of the Irish against the Blues. During the South African World Cup, the island surfed on it: t-shirts “The Hand of Frog“(‘The Hand of the Frog’) were sold in shops, advertisements parodied Henry and the Blues.
Some brands even offered 100 euros if France was eliminated, with an evocative slogan: “When the French lose, the Irish win” (“When France loses, Ireland wins”). But it is clear that since then, time has done its work. “At first, people were very angry but over the years, it calmed down“. When discussing the subject with Richard, taxi driver, one feels that derision has taken over. “don’t say that name [Thierry Henry] in my car“, he laughs.
“Now we laugh about it and honestly, any sportsman worthy of the name would have done like Thierry Henry”, Judge Richard. The former Les Bleus striker is in fact the main target of Irish supporters’ taunts over this story, more so than the France team. “Last week I was with members of the Irish Football Federation who were talking about the Blues. There is great admiration, great respect“, believes Pascal Vaudequin, a Frenchman who played in Ireland in the 1990s. “For a few years, there was a resentment, but it’s over, it’s in the past”, adds the one who has lived in Ireland for a long time and continued to work with the local federation. Henry found in March 2022 that he was still associated with this hand. Assistant coach of the Belgian selection, he was present at the Aviva Stadium during a friendly match between Ireland and Belgium.
The images of him on the bench, broadcast on giant screens, were whistled by the Irish public. “It was an incredible hoot. People didn’t forgetjudge Sébastien Berlier, French expatriate in Dublin and founder of the Irish Football account on social networks. It has necessarily faded but Henry remains associated with this hand. We felt at that moment that the scar is not quite closed.” “It was more for laughs than anything else“, assures his side Richard, the taxi driver.
Despite everything, this cheating will be one of the sources of motivation for the Irish for Monday’s match against the France team. Ireland coach Stephen Kenny admitted on Sunday that his players have watched several past encounters between the two teams. Including the 2009 match with Henry’s hand. “The players have seen the images and are aware of the whole story, even those who were young”, explained the coach. The Blues have been warned.