Many are surprised by the play Thierry Henry got away with in the World Cup playoff between France and Ireland.  If you are not aware of the incident, Henry clearly was guilty of an intentional handball in the box at a critical moment in the second half.  France was down a goal at the time of the non-call and the play resulted in a goal for Gallas and an assist from Henry.  France went on to win the aggregate playoff 2-1 because of the missed call.

And Ireland is pretty ticked off by the whole mess.  They are calling for a replay of the game since everyone involved (including Henry) has admitted that the officials blew the call and therefore the game.  To make matters worse you can clearly see two French players offsides before the entire handball fiasco occurred making one wonder, “Was this whole thing fixed?”

Tottenham star and Ireland captain, Robbie Keane, is not afraid to say so.  He believes it was no mistake that FIFA matched up the two squads in the first place while better known squads got easier draws.  And the way Ireland battled the tough former champs it makes it just that much worse that they lost on a technicality.

Especially since it could of easily been avoided.

Why not have one official up top in a luxury box with the master control room at his fingertips?  I realize soccer is supposed to be continuous and that what makes it authentically different from modern-era sports like American football, but with the technological advancements we have made in the last ten years it could become a saviour to crappy situations like this one.

I realize such a thing would mean that the Hand of God goal in the 1980’s by Maradona would become the Hand of God call by the referee in the control room, but soccer is not alone in this need for video evidence at critical parts of the game.

Did you watch the MLB playoffs?  Wow.

Now there’s a sport that NEEDS instant replay.