Interesting News:
France captain Thierry Henry says he considered quitting his international career after his blatant handball in the World Cup playoff win over Ireland.
Henry deliberately handled the ball before crossing for William Gallas to score the decisive goal in Paris on Wednesday.
The incident caused an international storm of protest, with the Irish begging world governing body Fifa for the match to be replayed.
Striker Henry himself backed those calls – although with the referee missing the foul, a replay was never a remote possibility.
Sports daily L'Equipe reported on Monday that it occurred to Henry to quit after feeling rejected by his country's football authorities.
'Went too far'
"Friday, when it all went too far, I was very worked up," he said.
"It's not the first time (that I thought about retiring).
"After the 2006 World Cup, I thought about it, but it was too early. After Euro 2008, too, but it wasn't the right moment. There was a generation that needed me.
"Despite everything that has just happened and the fact that I felt let down, I will not let my country down."
Henry, who issued a statement saying a replay would be the fairest solution only after Fifa said the result would stand, said he regretted the way he had celebrated the decisive goal.
"I shouldn't have done that but, frankly, it was uncontrollable, after all we had been through," he said.
The 32-year-old Henry, who has scored a French record 51 goals from 117 internationals, blamed the French Football Federation for their lack of support.
"The day after the match, and the day after that, I felt alone, really alone," he said.
"It was only after I issued my statement that the people from the French Federation got in touch."
France captain Thierry Henry says he considered quitting his international career after his blatant handball in the World Cup playoff win over Ireland.
Henry deliberately handled the ball before crossing for William Gallas to score the decisive goal in Paris on Wednesday.
The incident caused an international storm of protest, with the Irish begging world governing body Fifa for the match to be replayed.
Striker Henry himself backed those calls – although with the referee missing the foul, a replay was never a remote possibility.
Sports daily L'Equipe reported on Monday that it occurred to Henry to quit after feeling rejected by his country's football authorities.
'Went too far'
"Friday, when it all went too far, I was very worked up," he said.
"It's not the first time (that I thought about retiring).
"After the 2006 World Cup, I thought about it, but it was too early. After Euro 2008, too, but it wasn't the right moment. There was a generation that needed me.
"Despite everything that has just happened and the fact that I felt let down, I will not let my country down."
Henry, who issued a statement saying a replay would be the fairest solution only after Fifa said the result would stand, said he regretted the way he had celebrated the decisive goal.
"I shouldn't have done that but, frankly, it was uncontrollable, after all we had been through," he said.
The 32-year-old Henry, who has scored a French record 51 goals from 117 internationals, blamed the French Football Federation for their lack of support.
"The day after the match, and the day after that, I felt alone, really alone," he said.
"It was only after I issued my statement that the people from the French Federation got in touch."
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