France just beat Ireland in extra time thanks to a blatant Thierry Henry handball pass to William Gallas in the 104th minute. Henry touched the ball not once, but twice with his hand, directing the ball right to the waiting Gallas. Their gift: A trip to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, while the Irish will undoubtedly be livid with how the winning goal was scored.

Robbie Keane had scored in the 33rd minute, giving Ireland the result through 90 minutes that they needed for the game to continue on, but in the end it was not to be.

FIFA made it clear through their seeding that they wanted teams like France to win, so it’s not surprising that their referees would turn a blind eye to cheating when the match was reaching the final minutes.

Here is another video of the handball with more replays and bad music:

What a terrible display of sportsmanship from Henry, and a terrible non-handball call by referee Martin Hansson, who apparently went to the Hugh Dallas School of Officiating. Yes, I’m still bitter about the 2002 World Cup.

Photo: BryanAGraham

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