Thierry Henry is free at last! Henry faced a ton of criticism for his handle ball versus Ireland during their World Cup qualifying match. This hand ball led to the goal that France scored against Ireland, which allowed France to advance to the World Cup and which sent Ireland home, ending their hopes of a trip to South Africa.

I was really hoping that Ireland would win, but I agree with FIFA in the decision they made regarding this matter. Over the past few months, I’ve been chatting with many friends about this matter and we’ve come up with some great comparisons that help make this extremely clear.

Let’s compare other sports, perhaps basketball. If Michael Jordan fouled a player (not flagrant) in a championship game, but the refs missed the call on this game winning opportunity I can guarantee there would be no debate if Jordan should be punished. There’s a simple reason for this – it’s the refs job to make the calls!

FIFA couldn’t find a legal reason that Henry should be penalized. A hand ball doesn’t allow them to fine him or suspend him. If the ref’s called a handball, they could have given him a card, but it’s too late for that as they obviously missed the boat on that call!

If FIFA were able to find a reason to punish Henry, it could have kept him on the sidelines during the World Cup this summer. This would have been a terrible decision. Nobody wants to see the best soccer tournament in the World with a legend on the side line (well, unless you’re playing France!).

Playing college ball in the States, I’ve been part of some terrible calls. Some were in our favor and some against us. We never blamed the player – we would go straight to the ref and let him know what he missed! I understand the refs are human and they’ll miss some calls!

Ireland put in a request to FIFA to replay this match, but I knew this wouldn’t happen. They can’t turn the call over at this point, so that means that can’t find a reason to replay the game. Some people would like to see FIFA develop a review system, but that could really ruin the flow of a game. There are other options, like the addition of a ref on the end-lines which I think is a better solution.

Anyone who has ever played soccer has tried some sneaky things in a game before. Some may argue it’s bad sportsmanship, but some will say it’s part of the game. I can’t say what Henry did was wrong since its part of the game. I think its unfair, but unfortunately that’s part of the game!