Hand of history on shoulder of referee Kassai

GIOVANNI TRAPATTONI was expressing quiet confidence that Ireland can beat Estonia over two legs to qualify for the European Championship finals when he added the caveat that football is an unpredictable game.

“You can play well and still lose the game to an error or a penalty or a referee’s mistake,” he pointed out.

Ah yes, refereeing mistakes — a topic which won’t be too far from the minds of Irish fans as they gear up for tonight’s play-off against Estonia, a game which comes just a week short of two years since referee Martin Hansson and his team of Swedish officials were exposed to international ridicule for failing to spot Thierry Henry’s ‘Hand Of Gaul’ in the Stade de France.