World Cup 2010 Blog: “FIFA Won’t Punish Thierry Henry for Handball” plus 1 more |  |
| FIFA Won’t Punish Thierry Henry for Handball Posted: 19 Jan 2010 04:12 AM PST
For those unfamiliar with the incident… where’ve you been? Back in November 2009, Thierry Henry was Public Enemy Numéro Un for committing a blatant handball France for World Cup 2010 at Ireland’s expense. Click here and relive the moment if needed. There were calls for a France vs Ireland replay, and even a bizarre request that Ireland be included in World Cup 2010 as the 33rd team. FIFA said no to both. Some thought maybe FIFA would punish Henry individually, but here’s what they decided yesterday:
All of which means Thierry Henry will be at World Cup 2010 and will be free to play for France. I’m sure some people will be outraged by that. But let’s take a step back for a second. I know this was the biggest news in the history of the universe at the time, but all Thierry Henry did was commit a handball offence that the ref missed. He’s not the first person to do it, and he won’t be the last. The incident was magnified to many times over because of the circumstances (World Cup qualification at stake and all that) and that possibly leads some to expect a serious punishment for Henry. But again, it was just a handball. If the referee had caught Henry doing it, it might have been a yellow. It wouldn’t have been a ban or a fine or anything of the sort. Which is why it’s perfectly fair for Henry to escape punishment now. If anything, Henry’s real punishment is that he’s a little less loved by the average football fan than he used to be. Which is far worse than having to sit out a World Cup match or pay a fine.
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| FIFA Not Best Pleased With Protektorvest Posted: 18 Jan 2010 01:26 PM PST
Of course, maybe we didn’t know. How has this thing caught such fire that it’s trickling all the way to FIFA, when it’s so…gimmicky. It’s really the type of thing which you chuckle at, wonder ever so slightly for a second if “maybe…” and then quickly dismiss the notion and spend the cash on a decent replica kit instead. Or counseling, in the event that your team didn’t make it. But somehow, it has hit the mainstream, and those running the show aren’t quite thrilled about its place on the personal safety market:
Likely true. Of course the product itself it so outlandish and curiosity-inducing, Rich just hit the payroll as Protektorvest’s best advertiser. So perhaps in the future, silence is the best plan of attack. And at the end of this little news feed, the one proclaiming the safety of visitors at the World Cup, there was a small blip on another South Africa 2010 news story:
Probably not the optimal choice for a footnote.
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You knew they’d incur FIFA’s wrath eventually, and boy have they. (If you’d missed it, read up on the | You are subscribed to email updates from World Cup Soccer - South Africa 2010 To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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