Let’s say you are 10 minutes late for work, but your boss hasn’t noticed. Do you go to his office and tell him that you were late? NO!

It patently obvious to anyone with a brain that the officiating of professional football is completely farcical. How many times do we have to see such incidents? Blatant handballs? Disallowed goals where the ball was several feet over the line? It’s a complete joke. And yet, FIFA pig-headedly refuses to even entertain the idea of video refereeing, despite the fact that nearly every other major team sport uses it now. And they are supported in their reactionary, anachronistic attitude by like-minded football fans who repeat the trite, facile mantra about technology “slowing the game down”. I dare say such people refer to such things as the “interweb” and these new-fangled portable telephones we all have.

This looks like an obvious support of introducing video technology then, in order to ensure that the decision is made correctly the first time around. Certainly, it would provide accountability, the players could not cheat and then say “oh well it was up to the ref” because the ref would have no excuse not to make the right decision. Furthermore, it eliminates the inequality which results from us sitting and watching every incident from our living rooms and then furiously abusing referee’s and linesmen for seeing something that they could, quite possibly, never have been able to see.

And yet despite all this, I’m a purist, and my heart shudders at the thought of bringing video technology into our beautiful game. it’s simply one of those situations where your head knows that its probably the right thing to do and youor heart simply can’t accept it.

Who knows what will happen. Unfortunately, none of us really get a say anyway.

I want FIFA to go ‘theres something terrible here and we must look at what we can do’..so no, not banning Henry, or the like…something constructive. One day we will have video replays but we will have to wait until Blatter snuffs it and have the governing body run by someone with a modern stance. ..then we will all go ‘why have we not had this for the last x amount of years!!!’ …i can hear it now. Its like the backpass rule..talked about for ten years as goalkeepers spent 90% of their time playing one twos with their centre backs and picking the ball up wasting time…but no one could see a rule change..then we changed it and it healed that issue once and for all

Football is the only sport where we allow this sort of cheating to happen. The deception by these player has reached breaking point

The game is already in the gutter but Henry dragged it a little closer to the sewer last night..i may just start watching other better run sports :-p

What I said about Irish heartbreak being inevitable was because of the luck the home nations have suffered in qualifying campaigns in recent history. Getting to a stage where it is possible to qualify but having it taken away late on.

And what Shortbus said about playing to the whistle is the harsh reality of it.

I am surprised the linesman didn’t pick it up, but you cannot always blame the officials, they do a tough job. However, I do feel that if the boot was on the other foot, the player would either be banned for 2010 or such a stink (according to Mr Platini of course), would call for a replay. Fifa is another corrupt organisation, and always had a level of jealousy around the UK, especially England. Or they favour the larger nations because of money. I personally feel it would be brave and right for Fifa to make this stand, and call a replay. Anelka dived, and for anyone to say differently, they obviously haven’t played the game. To try and dismiss the impact of what happened by mentioning this is wrong.

It is about time Fifa stood up for the future of the game, and either played the tie again, or at least stop Henry for participating. Yes it was instinctive, but it is still cheating. Anelka should be fined, and if an Irish player was seen to be diving, he should be fined. This is ruining the game and it should be stamped out. If you heavily fine and disgrace the cheats, then this will clean up the game. Drogba was shamed in the football media two seasons ago for excessive diving. He threatened to quit the English game, but still here and seems a little more honourable in his play nowadays – I wonder why? “Name and shame to improve the game”.

Utter nonsense mate, Ireland had levelled the playing field by scoring away from home. And throughout the game Ireland looked the more likely to get another goal, we had the advantage for if we had have scored again France would have to score 2 more goals to win. So what you’re saying is absolute shite…..

And if the situation was reversed, if Ireland had been the team to score a goal through means of cheating, and France was in a state of rage today (as Ireland is), FIFA would not hesitate to stage a replay of the game……its all about money…..here’s to France not getting past the group stage of the World Cup, and I’ll spit at the ground in front of Henry if I ever meet him, and the French manager, shameless feckers, how dare they celebrate this victory as they did, and the comments they made after the match, SHOCKING!

But yes, respect to the group of French fans who have shown sympathy to our Irish team, and who fully understand the way Irish fans feel.