Close shave: Gillette cut Henry’s wandering hand

THIERRY HENRY ´S infamous ‘Hand of Gaul’ incident has taken a new twist with claims his sponsor Gillette have altered an image of the player with a ball in his hand in the wake of the controversy.

A Spanish newspaper says the company have altered pictures of Henry as part of the French marketing arm of their Champions campaign.

The Barcelona striker is one of the shaving giants top faces, and Henry fronts the Champions campaign along with tennis ace Roger Federer and world golf number one Tiger Woods.

The Champions campaign features Woods holding a golf club, Federer a tennis racquet and Henry a football in his left hand. However according to Spanish newspaper Sport, Henry’s hand brandishing the football has been airbrushed out of the French version of the Champions campaign.

Instead of holding the ball in his hand, Henry appears in France with his left hand inside his pocket. The ball has disappeared completely.

This comes in the wake of the star’s hand ball incident which ultimately cost Ireland a place in the upcoming World Cup in South Africa, as Henry used his hand to keep the ball in play for William Gallas’s winning goal.

Henry, who was largely anonymous in Barcelona’s victory over Real Madrid in Barcelona on Sunday night, is believed to have a hugely lucrative contract with Gillette, which is one of his main endorsement deals.

It’s been a tough few days for Gillette’s star names.

Henry’s stablemate at Gillette, golf’s Tiger Woods, had a close shave of his own at the weekend when he was involved in a car crash near his home in Windermere in Florida.

Woods crashed his vehicle in a bizarre late night accident. He has since asked that the incident remain a private matter.