Weary Green Army footsoldiers retreat from the 'Stade de Fraud'
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Friday November 20 2009
Apres match was not a good place to be yesterday. Paris was chock-full of sore heads and Irish fans with injustice and bitterness in their hearts. Some hadn't slept at all, no doubt fearing the nightmares that would come if they did.
Better to stay awake and battle the demons head on. At the Eiffel Tower, where just the day before hundreds of green shirts had conducted a raucous party, subdued supporters sat in the wintry sunshine and talked about one thing: 'La Main de Dieu', the hand of God. It was the headline in the daily French sports newspaper 'L'Equipe' and it told how the mantle of cheat had now passed from Argentina's Diego Maradona to Thierry Henry.
'Le Hand of Gaul' was another good one and 'French Nickers' tried to add some gaiety.
But robbed, cheated or mugged, it all added up to the same thing: we're not going to South Africa, they are.
The former Arsenal hero Henry woke up yesterday not to headlines which exulted in France's qualification for the World Cup next summer, but to opprobrium and embarrassment. By the time he went to bed, politicians of every hue had become involved and were busy trading punches over the cheat tag which even threatens to poison Hiberno-Franco relations. Will Taoiseach Brian Cowen raise it with President Nicolas Sarkozy? French PM Francois Fillon said he certainly hoped not, acidly adding: "Governments should stay out of football matters."
That Henry will now be forever bracketed with another unrepentant cheat, Diego Maradona, whose hand of God goal broke English hearts in 1986 was of no consolation for Ireland's fans still in France yesterday. "No game has been so eagerly anticipated and as monumentally ballsed-up as this one in a very long time,"added 'L'Equipe'.
The French capital's daily 'Le Parisien' described the win as 'Miraculous' in a front-page headline, but the paper added said it was also "unfortunate" Henry would now become the focus. Maybe he shouldn't have grabbed the ball then.
"He had so much respect from Irish fans. We thought he was above all that," said Liam Mulcahy sitting with friends under the Eiffel Tower.
The group had stayed up all night -- drinking at an Irish bar until 6am before they retired for breakfast ahead of a flight home to Dublin at 4pm.
They admitted they felt as bad as they looked.
"It's just sickening. I don't know what to feel," added the 24-year-old from Blanchardstown, Dublin. "It's like FIFA just never wanted us to win in the first place."
There was worse to come at the airport. As 250 Irish fans arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport yesterday for a 10.20am flight home, Aer Lingus announced a five-hour delay.
More time to think about the match then. Great.
"I am sure Henry had respect as a player. Now all he will be remembered for is cheating, nothing else," said James Kavanagh (42) from Crumlin, Dublin.
The calls for a replay, however improbable, got a grateful audience. "Hats off to Dermot Ahern," said Mr Kavanagh. "Young kids were watching that. Cheating to get to the Wold Cup is the way to go?"
Whatever about the cheating, Mr Kavanagh, will still remember the atmosphere at what has quickly become known as the Stade de Fraud.
"It was incredible. To be so near yet so far was amazing".
- Ciaran Byrne
Irish Independent
