David Leggat: Give a big hand to slick Henry

Sporting chicanery is all around us, always has been, always will be.

Who'd want to be a referee, or umpire for that matter, when you know that you are surrounded by cheats, out to garner any edge by whatever means. Purity of sport? Forget it.

Before we get to Thierry Henry and his nifty handiwork which this week bumped Ireland out of the World Cup finals, consider other sports.

What about the batsman who knows he got a fat edge to a delivery which the umpire didn't pick up and stands his ground?

Or the rugby player who bobbles the ball in the act of scoring under a pile of bodies. The referee has no chance, the third official can't pick it up. Does the player stand up and declare they didn't force it correctly?

Or the league player who knows he's performed an illegal strip of the ball off an opponent which is not detected, and so on.

All examples of sharp practice to which the refrain is inevitably "leave it to the ref".

So let's put a bit of perspective here. What Henry did with his hand to set up the goal that got France to the finals, and robbed the Irish of the chance to make it, is nothing new.

What it is, however, is the latest and most dramatic example of why the world governing body Fifa needs to get real and use technology.

For those who have been on another planet for the last 48 hours, the French star knocked the ball down with his hand before nudging it to teammate William Gallas who scored the equalising goal in their second leg playoff to confirm a trip to South Africa next year.

It was not a debatable moment. Everyone saw it apart from the Swedish referee Martin Hansson and his two linesmen. Henry admitted it after the match, no doubt accompanied by a Gallic shrug and an air of "c'est la vie".

The first surprise was that in the minutes remaining after the goal an Irish player didn't kick Henry into the stands.

(Which recalls a wonderful line from a former Irish coach, Jack Charlton, when asked how he would have reacted had he been German striker Rudi Voeller after being spat on by Dutchman Frank Rijkaard during an international several years ago. "I'd have chinned him," said Big Jack.)

The person who'll likely end up regretting it most is Henry, a peerless player now just past his best and a man with, until now, a decent reputation. For all the silky skills, the wondrous goals, he will go to his grave with the C word emblazoned across his name.

But with luck, he'll be remembered as the cheat who brought about a significant, and long overdue change to the game.

The Irish demanded the game be replayed. There was a precedent, Fifa declaring invalid a cup qualifier between Uzbekistan and Bahrain following a bad refereeing error four years ago.

But the Irish were up against it. This was Fifa they were talking about, the supervisors of the world's biggest game and who are possessed of a Stone Age attitude towards embracing the modern devices at our disposal.

Late last night, they turned the Irish down.

While it would be silly to go cartwheeling down the technology freeway, it could be done in a measured basis. Use it for diving, but only in the penalty box - as it relates to goals and therefore results and potentially promotion or relegation and serious financial spinoffs - but not in the rest of the field. And clearly it has to be used to decide the legality of goals, if there is any doubt.

Balloongate a few weeks ago was hilarious, unless you were a Liverpool fan. The shot by a Sunderland player cannoned off the offending airbag at a 120 degree angle. Goal, and victory.

So comparing Henry's handiwork with the most famous example of the dark art, Diego Maradona against England in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final, which was worse? Which was more blatant?

The Argentina-England game was refereed by a clown from Tunisia, ill-equipped for such a high-stakes occasion. But I'd lean towards Henry, for the ramifications for Ireland and the game. At least England were at the finals.

If Fifa had a real desire to make a statement it would suspend Henry. But it won't. It doesn't work that way. And have you ever noticed that the really bad moments invariably favour the big nations? Funny that.