Harrington calls victory celebration ‘galling’

PÁDRAIG Harrington has labelled as “galling” the French side’s controversial “dirty handball goal” victory celebration over Ireland.

Harrington didn’t watch the match live but was up early on Thursday in Dubai to view highlights of the World Cup showdown encounter in Paris.

“Their celebration of cheating was particularly galling,” said Harrington.

“It’s just strange because in golf there is a different attitude. But in football, if somebody makes a mistake, I would say putting your hand out is a reaction and a mistake. So the great thing in golf is if we do something wrong, we hold our hand up and say, hey, hang on a second, I didn’t mean that, sorry. You go back and take your penalty.

“It just seems perfectly reasonable for that to happen but not in France’s case. But the celebration was pretty hard to look at.

“Everybody makes a mistake and I would not hold it against them, but then to act like it never happened.”

Former president of the GAA and MEP Sean Kelly said FIFA should order a replay and should act immediately to address the issue of reviewing contentious decisions in real time.

“What happened on Wednesday was appalling. As an Irish sports fan, I am angry and annoyed at the injustice of Thierry Henry’s double hand ball.

“The decision to permit the goal to stand has possibly cost the Irish economy millions and, equally importantly, has deprived Ireland of the chance of a morale boost in these times of recession,” he said.

Former France international David Ginola told BBC Radio 5 Live: “I’m very embarrassed by the situation. I don’t feel very proud to be French this morning. The Irish played very well and they deserved to go through as much as France, maybe more. I’m very surprised FIFA haven’t mentioned anything about it – the whole world saw the hand ball. This is a pure injustice. Everyone in France, the press and everyone, says there should be a replay.”

Francois Bayrou, a former candidate for the French presidency, said: “In an ideal world, the match should be played again. I saw the match and like a lot of people I wasn’t very proud, and like everyone else I asked why don’t we have a video match official.”

Leading French politician, Philippe de Villiers, said: “Raymond Domenech should express his public regrets and show a gesture of dignity towards Ireland.”