William Gallas: Our country and football federation did not protect Thierry Henry after handball

The French defender scored the extra-time winner on that faithful night in Paris in 2009.

THAT MOMENT: William Gallas and Thierry Henry at World Cup 2010 qualifying football match France versus Ireland Republic of Ireland at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis in Paris, France on November 18th , 2009. (Photo by Laurent ZABULON/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

William Gallas may have been the man that scored the extra-time winner but it was his compatriot Thierry Henry that truly broke Irish hearts on that infamous night in 2009.

Everyone knows the story. Henry stuck out his arm, controlled the ball, and squared it to Gallas, who slotted home the winner at the Stade de France to send France to the 2010 World Cup at the expense of Ireland.

With Ireland taking on the French this very Monday night at the Aviva Stadium, memories of that controversial play-off second-leg have come flooding back. And Gallas has jumped to the defence of the Arsenal legend.

"It was crazy. For me it was difficult to understand (such an angry reaction)," Gallas told Genting Casino.

"This was a game with a ticket to the 2010 World Cup on the line, but even so, the reaction after the result was too crazy. I think our country and football federation did not protect Thierry.

"After the game, some French pundits started to say that it was a disgrace to qualify like this. Don’t forget that in this period some French people didn’t want to see France at the World Cup for some reason.

"If it was another country, if it was in England, do you think that some pundits and fans would react in the same way? I think they would say, ‘OK, a handball is a handball. The referee didn’t see it. We won the match and now we’re going to the World Cup. I am happy.’

"In France some pundits and former players didn’t react like this. They blamed the players. They wanted Ireland to go to the World Cup and create a beautiful story.

"At the time, I wasn't happy with the way the French team and certain players were treated by some pundits and media. What followed the result wasn’t good. Thierry should have been given more protection."

The former Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur defending couldn't miss when Henry picked him out with a cross right in front of goal.

But Gallas insists he didn't see the incident initially and it wasn't until after full-time that he realised what occurred in the build-up to his decisive finish.

"To be honest, I scored the goal, but I had no idea about the handball - I didn’t see it at the time because there were players in front of me," he continued.

"I didn’t see Thierry touch the ball with his hand. Afterwards, in the dressing room, I realised what had happened, because the players were talking about it and told me Thierry touched the ball with his hand.

"I said, ‘OK. The referee didn’t see it. It’s not our fault. It is the fault of the referee.’ In the end, France went through to the World Cup. To play at the World Cup is a dream for every football player - we were happy about that. That is it.

"We didn’t feel bad (about qualifying). After there were a lot of questions from the media about it, my answer was always the same. We qualified and were happy to go to South Africa.

"Do you remember when Luis Suarez stopped Ghana scoring a goal with a handball in the quarter finals of the 2010 World Cup?

"Did you see anything in the media from Uruguay or from their fans that called the incident a disgrace? Was there uproar when they qualified for the next round like this? Did you see anything like that?"