Some time ago in HDEO I wrote about “La Honte”, which I thought meant simply “shame”, or “embarrassment”. I used it in a pub in front of a crowd of French football fans when Thierry Henry deliberately handled the ball to allow his team to score and grubbily shatter any dreams Ireland had of playing in the world cup finals. It’s also been on my mind today with the “shame” of the alleged affairs of Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife, and the equal shame pertaining to the alleged hoaxers. (The Henry affair also inspired, during those haunted days, another HDEO post which reflected on more gallant times when the French fought for Ireland). I’ve been thinking and reading about the word, and it means a lot more... Similar posts

France welcomed Spain to Paris on Wednesday night in a glamour friendly ahead of this summers impending World Cup. Spain’s class showed through as they ran out easy victors, sending out a strong message of intent in the process. The win was their 42nd out of their last 45 games, form strong enough to worry any competitor this summer. There were plenty of familar faces on show as some of the top players in La Liga and the Premier League lined out for their countries, including Ireland’s favourite football star, Thierry Henry (pictured below with Cesc Fabregas). The early exchanges between the sides were tight, but Spain soon stamped their authority on the tie. Valencia’s prolific striker David Villa (pictured below) opened the scoring on the 20 minute mark, neatly... Similar posts

Gotta don my Snopes cap and call bullshit on this one, I’m afraid. This story has done the rounds of virtually all the bulletin boards today. It’s funny, it involves someone pissing in SuperValu and it casts a Roscommon person in the role of national idiot. Of course, I’d fucking love if it were true. But upon cursory examination, it’s hard to see how anyone ever fell for it. From Board.ie Saw this in the regionals today Irish plasterer urinated on French loaves in protest at Henry handball, court told BY KEVIN BRADY A drunken unemployed plasterer who was found urinating on the French loaves section of a large supermarket in protest at the infamous handball incident in the France vs Ireland World Cup qualifier, was this week given a suspended sentence, fined and... Similar posts

The latest in a long long line of Facebook groups about the much cursed “Thierry (The Cheat) Henry” has hit the news. This one is called – 100,000 want ‘Sorry’ from Thiery Henry at World Cup to Ireland at Opening The Link is ; http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=257875898092 I think its time to put this one to bed no matter how much the Irish hate... Similar posts

There is a new Facebook group called Ban Thierry Henry ( The Cheater) From World Cup. This in on the back of the famous hand ball by Thierry Henry ( The Cheater) which knocked Ireland effectively out of the World Cup -(or at least with a 50:50 chance if it had gone to penalties.) if you want to sign up to the new Facebook group visit; http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ban-Thierry-Henry-The-Cheater-From-World-Cup/177331092751 If you want to take things a step further and send Thierry a little message of “support” you can always “Add as Friend” one Mr. Thierry Henry. Hie Facebook profile is at; http://www.facebook.com/people/Thierry-Henry/1192425162#/profile.php?id=1192425162 UPDATE As it stands however, today, Thierry Henry (according to the BBC) will not be punished by... Similar posts

Shay Given has spoken for the first time about The France v Ireland World Cup play-off game and called the result and referee decision an 'injustice'.Speaking to the Daily Mail Given said ‘Had the tables been turned and it’d happened to France I’d love to have seen the outcome. That’s an interesting question to ask with Michel Platini being the head of UEFA and Sepp Blatter up there. You’d love to know the outcome then, eh?’Given is as unimpressed by Blatter as he is by Swedish referee Martin Hansson. The Donegal man is a phlegmatic character but this is a situation you feel he will never be able to relax about.‘I still feel angry about the whole thing,’ he said. ‘All the stuff from FIFA and Sepp Blatter — just rubbish. A couple of days ago Blatter said he’d spoken... Similar posts

Football removed from Thierry Henrys hand on French version of Gillette website Gillette, the shaving company, who’s stars, Thierry Henry, Tiger Woods and Roger Federer star in the campaign have updated their website. If you log onto http://www.gillettechampions.com and visit the Irish site you will see one image with a football in Thierry Henrys left hand – if you visit the French version the foodball is not in Henrys hand. See the Gillette screenshots for the Gillette Champions website below. The Irish Version of the Gillette Champions website The French Version of the Gillette Champions website - Note no Football French Disgust at Henrys HandBall This may have been as a result of the French disgust at the way Thierry Henry cheated during the France v Ireland game. 88% of... Similar posts

The Irish had asked to be allowed in as a 33rd team after losing in the play-off against France, who won the tie with a controversial handball goal. Fifa official Jerome Valcke said if the structure was changed it could lead to other nations lodging protests. Meanwhile, Ireland's assistant boss Liam Brady claimed that Sepp Blatter had become "an embarrassment to Fifa". Secretary general Valcke made it clear there was no way Ireland would be playing in South Africa. "There was a request made by the Irish when we met them in Zurich a few days ago," said Valcke. "They asked the question but the Fifa president was very clear in saying it was impossible because if we did so then way not Costa Rica and others? "We told them that because they were making a special request that we... Similar posts

First Thierry Henry dirties his nice guy image by handling the ball in the play-off match against Ireland, then Tiger Woods as his little troubles with his car. Has anyone seen Roger Federer recently? I hope he’s being... Similar posts

After the farce of the French Match and the cheating of Thierry Henry the FAI have confirmed that the Republic of Ireland asked for extra 2010 World Cup place. Sepp Blatter of FIFA will review the Republic of Ireland requested plea saying “I will bring it to the attention of the Executive Committee,” which takes place on Wednesday. An emergency meeting of FIFA will take place in Cape Town on Wednesday, two days ahead of the draw for the finals FIFAs reputation is on the line – as the whole “Fair Play” thing is now worthless, especially since FIFA Fair Play was setup after Diego Maradonas Hand Ball in the 1986 World Cup Finals. Ironic to say the least. Even More irony cam when Sepp Blatter said … wait for it…. “We must fight cheating”.... Similar posts

… by saying something stupid like “can we be the 33rd team at the world cup?” For fuck’s sake John Delaney. It was never gonna happen but at least the world was on our side. But then you go and make us look like fucking eejits again and it’s on CNN, BBC, SKY etc. Dammit. And you make Roy Keane’s views seem almost rational, credible even. That’s some feat.... Similar posts

Fifa president Sepp Blatter has revealed that he telephoned France captain Thierry Henry to offer him support over his controversial handball in the World Cup play-off win over Ireland. "I called Thierry, because he tried to get in touch with me," Blatter told French newspaper L'Equipe. "He was honest by admitting that he did use his hand, but it wasn't his responsibility to tell the referee."When I was a centre forward in my junior team, I definitely gained an advantage by pulling a defender's jersey in order to score a goal. And I didn't go and see the referee to tell him about it." Blatter's remarks are incredible as he seems to be condoning cheating within the game & it certainly makes a mockery of FIFA's Fair Play code.Its difficult to see how Blatter can support Fair Play within the... Similar posts

It's almost two weeks since the Ireland and France match. The night itself can only be described as the stuff nightmares are made of. Ireland sat glued to the television sets in all four corners of the country. I myself sat in the living room, attached to my laptop and blogging away goodo here. I'll admit I was confused at times, and I still need someone to explain the offside rule. But over all I really enjoyed watching the match even if I didn't enjoy the end result.Not long after the match ended I went to bed to do some lesson planning. Not exactly the highlight but it had to be done. I wasn't there long when I noticed a very popular trend in the online worlds of facebook and twitter. Groups were being set up Henry bashing. Now I agree he was wrong and he knows better then to do the... Similar posts

Bad as the floods are, if I were in government I would welcome them as a distraction from the economy and the Budget. Likewise the glorious controversy over Thierry Henry’s hand-ball. (more…) Share...... Similar posts

Exciting week as GoS moves house and drinks his favourite red yet of... Similar posts

The Guardian’s weekly football photoshop mash-up The Gallery is in today. No prizes for guessing what topic they’re covering…... Similar posts

Thierry ¨Le C**t¨ Henry; born 17 August 1977, is a French c**t footballer who plays for Spanish La Liga club Barcelona and the cunting French national team, predominantly as a c**t. Henry was born a c**t and remains a c**t, Essonne—a suburb of Paris—where he played for an array of local sides as a c**t and showed great promise as a c**t Read more... Similar posts

… so we should really rip out the entire bathroom and get a new one put in. Yes, it seems we have embarked on an Extreme Nesting project par excellence after last week’s painting of the chimney brest failed to scratch that itchy homing itch. The pregnancy continues well thankfully, with a sprinkling of sleepless nights and an assortment of cramps and pains for the lady. The Swine flu vaccine has been upgraded to two doses so Irishmam will be getting the second one again on Friday.  The virus seems to be waning in Ireland – last I heard. I still watch in horror though, as people on the bus put their hands on the bars and then pick their teeth. In this house we’ve been washing our hands as soon as we come in the door and carrying hand gel all the time. I guess when... Similar posts

It is a pretty bitter pill to swallow, being knocked out of the World Cup Finals by 'le main de frog' as it has become known. Now I know and have heard all the arguments from 'get over it' by Roy Keane (I mean hello? Pot - kettle and all that!) to 'we should have won in previous games', from however many pundits you care to name. But whatever about all those discussions which will go on for many years I suspect: it does not change the fact that France won through cheating. Now every other governing body of sport that I can think of goes out of its' way to both eliminate the chances of cheating, to even rescinding previous awards to cheats - however deliberate or accidental that cheating is judged to be. Think of the Olympics - where medals are regularly recalled and records erased - even... Similar posts