Republic Ireland request replay against France

Republic of Ireland’s robbed stars believe their World Cup qualification play-off against France should be replayed.

Ireland were beaten on aggregate in Paris when an extra-time goal by William Gallas had been handled by Thierry Henry.

Former Arsenal striker Henry admitted he had kept the ball in play with his hand, but the act went unpunished, leading to a furious reaction.

Assistant manager Liam Brady and midfielder Kevin Kilbane have led the calls for FIFA to throw out the result and order the match to be played again.

‘Well, I’d like to think it would be replayed and I think everyone in the squad would like it replayed,’ the Hull City midfielder told talkSPORT.

‘You see for yourself he’s handballed it once and it’s still going out of play so he’s handled it again to make sure it doesn’t go out of play.

‘And you know what? I asked him on the pitch, “did you handball it?” and he said, “yes, but I didn’t mean it”.

‘But when I’ve seen the replay it’s there for all to see that we were let down. It’s a massive disappointment for us all here.

‘I saw it clear as day. I went over to the referee after the game had finished and I asked him what happened and if he’d seen the handball. He said, “I can 100 per cent say it wasn’t handball”.

A FIFA spokesman said: ‘FIFA is not in a position to comment on decisions taken by match officials.’