I was treated like I killed someone, blasts Thierry Henry

Thierry Henry has said he was treated like he had "killed someone" in the aftermath of the handball that ended Ireland’s hopes of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.

The former Arsenal striker claimed Ireland’s players did not blame him for the incident which cost them a place in South Africa and insisted he did not move to the USA to escape criticism for his behaviour that night in Paris on November 18, 2009.

Henry re-opened the wounds of the World Cup play-off victory in an interview on French television.

In it, he also admitted his dream to coach Arsenal.

But it was his behaviour in the immediate aftermath of the Ireland game, when he was seen talking to the dejected Irish players, that Henry sought to defend.

He said: “You’re talking about people I spent so many times on the pitch with! I just said them, ‘Yes, it was hand, I’m sorry.’ And you know what? They told me: ‘We don’t blame you.’

“I saw Liam Brady, the Arsenal legend, and he asked me: ‘Did you touch it with your hand?’ And I answered, ‘Yes, it was my hand.’ I spoke to the press that night. I could have ignored them but I didn’t. I spoke honestly. It was a reflex. A reflex by a competitor, just like when you reach out for the ball on the line when your goalkeeper is beaten.

“When I see Messi scoring against Espanyol, diving to touch the ball with his hand, people say, ‘What a genius, now he is closer than ever to Maradona.’ But when it was me, it was like I had killed someone.”

Just six months later, Henry, who at the time was playing for Barcelona, moved to New York Red Bulls. The French media speculated he moved to escape the pressure of that Paris incident. Henry was keen to set the record straight.

“I’ve always wanted to go there. Anyone who knows me would tell you. To escape what? To escape who? I wanted to go as soon as 2009, but I didn’t because I kept playing with the national team. It’s total rubbish.”

Henry was also asked whether he would like to become Arsenal coach, either to replace Arsene Wenger or further in the future.

“I would be lying if I said I wouldn’t like to come back. Yes, I would like to. If you ask me, yes I would like to.

“That’s not the way life is. I know about football, for sure. But am I able to educate anyone about it? I don’t know. I am just preparing for that.”

Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny weighed in to the debate and said that if Henry did one day coach Arsenal, he should not come straight after Wenger.

“At Arsenal, Henry is god,” said Koscielny. “It’s possible (to be the next coach), but Titi needs to learn the job, he will probably do that at the Academy. (To take over) immediately just after Wenger, it would be too quick.”