17.01.2010
FIFA panel to examine Henry handball
A computer screen showing a web site focused on French international football player Thierry Henry.
France captain Thierry Henry's infamous handball in the World Cup play-off win over Ireland will go under the microscope on Monday when FIFA's disciplinary commission assess the incident.
Two months to the day since the Barcelona man's controversial intervention secured the 1-1 draw that took France to South Africa and ended Ireland's World Cup dream in the second leg of their play-off tie in Paris, Henry will face up to the possibility of a fine or even a ban.
The meeting of the 21-man disciplinary panel, an independent body chaired by the Swiss Marcel Mathier, was announced by FIFA president Sepp Blatter in Cape Town on December 2 following an extraordinary executive committee meeting.
"I had a phone conversation with Thierry Henry," said Blatter.
"We didn't talk about guilty or not guilty. It was a conversation between sportsmen. I didn't say that he would be punished, I said he'd be the subject of an investigation."
Blatter's diplomacy can be explained by the lack of precedent regarding retrospective punishments meted out to players.
The disciplinary commission is likely to issue a symbolic penalty, as FIFA's rules do not explicitly address incidents of such a nature and a heavy punishment would create an unwelcome precedent for world football's governing body.
Despite the media storm that followed the match, with the goal dubbed "The Hand of Frog" in the Irish press and Irish prime minister Brian Cowen calling for a replay, Henry is likely to escape lightly.
Article 57 of FIFA's disciplinary code concerns "anyone who insults someone in any way, especially by using offensive gestures or language, or who violates the principles of fair play or whose behaviour is unsporting in any other way" and refers to punishments ranging from warnings to the return of awards.
Blatter, meanwhile, has raised the possibility of awarding "moral compensation" to the Irish team.
"That could be a special trophy or a prize, we'll have to see," he said.
France were losing 1-0 to Ireland at the Stade de France on November 18, having won the first leg 1-0, when Henry teed up William Gallas for what proved to be the decisive goal after illegally controlling the ball with his hand.
Source: © 2010 AFP - Joel Saget
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