Henry did not behave immorally, says Houllier

December 2, 2009

France captain Thierry Henry was not behaving immorally when he deliberately handled the ball twice to set up the goal that eliminated the Republic of Ireland from the 2010 World Cup finals said former French coach Gerard Houllier on Tuesday.

The 62-year-old – a failure as national coach seeing France miss out on the 1994 World Cup finals losing their last two matches both at home to lowly Israel and then Bulgaria in the last minute – said that Henry’s action during last month’s play-off second leg match was not cheating.

“He didn’t cheat. It was instinctive,” Houllier told BBC radio.

“A lot of the former players in France have condemned what Thierry has done but, at the same time, they said they would have done the same.

“He didn’t cross the ball with his hand, he put the ball in on his foot. It’s the referee’s error,” added Houllier, who is now techinical director for the French Football Federation.

Houllier, who has enjoyed more success at club level first with Liverpool where he won five trophies and then at Lyon, said the Henry he knew would not do something like that deliberately and in any case the Irish would not have qualified even if the match had stayed at 1-0 in their favour as it would have gone to penalties.

“Thierry is too honest a person to have done this immorally. It was not premeditated,” said Houllier.

“I don’t think he’ll be punished and even if the goal had not been allowed, they (the Irish) would not have qualified. It would have gone to penalties.”

The sport’s governing body FIFA’s executive committee will meet on Wednesday in Cape Town, South Africa, to consider the incident as part of a disciplinary crackdown.

FIFA could put also more assistant referees on the fields during the World Cup, their president Sepp Blatter said.

“We’ll make a decision to have additional officials for the World Cup or not. This is open,” he said.

LONDON (AFP)

Tags: assistant referees, body fifa, cape town, captain Thierry Henry, crackdown, executive committee, favour, french coach, french football federation, gerard houllier, governing body, Liverpool, london, Lyon, national coach, referee, republic of ireland, South Africa, t cross, Thierry, thierry henry, trophies, world cup finals

Domenech hints at Trezeguet olive branch

October 13, 2009

France coach Raymond Domenech on Tuesday welcomed Juventus striker David Trezeguet’s comments about wanting to return to the national set-up.

Trezeguet, 31, announced his retirement from international football after being left out of Domenech’s squad for the 2008 European Championship, but recently said he would like to be involved in November’s World Cup play-off matches.

“I like it when players say that they want to play, to hear that players need the French team and want to play for it,” Domenech said.

“It’s healthy, it’s good.”

France face Austria here on Wednesday in their final group seven qualifying match, having already secured a place in the play-offs behind group leaders and automatic qualifiers Serbia.

The 1998 World Cup winners have flattered to deceive during their qualifying campaign, with goals in particularly short supply, and captain Thierry Henry also declared himself pleased at the prospect of Trezeguet’s return.

“It’s good,” said Henry, a former team-mate of Trezeguet’s at Monaco.

“David was injured last year. David is David. You could put him in any team at the age of 60 and if there were any chances they would fall to him.

“He’s extraordinary, but at the end of the day it’s down to the coach. It’s great to hear that though.”

In an interview with French sport daily L’Equipe published on Tuesday, Trezeguet said that he was still available for selection.

“I’ve not turned my back on the French team,” he said.

“I’m always available during this difficult time.”

Speaking after France’s group-stage exit at Euro 2008 last year, Trezeguet laid the blame for his retirement firmly at Domenech’s door, saying: “The disappointing Euro and the backing shown to the coach have forced me to take this irreversible decision.”

PARIS (AFP)

Tags: Austria, automatic qualifiers, captain Thierry Henry, David, david trezeguet, euro 2008, former team, France, france coach, french sport, french team, group leaders, group stage, international football, irreversible decision, juventus, Monaco, olive branch, PARIS, play offs, raymond domenech, sport daily, team mate, thierry henry, world cup winners

Malouda out of suqad, Henry denies criticising coach

September 8, 2009

1998 World Cup winners France’s increasingly fraught qualifying campaign for next year’s finals deepened on Monday when captain Thierry Henry denied he had criticised coach Raymond Domenech in front of the rest of the squad.

Squad-mate and fellow 2006 World Cup finalist Florent Malouda also revealed that he had only learnt he was not even among the substitutes for last Saturday’s qualifier with Romania at the Stade de France when he entered the dressing-room and he saw there was no shirt for him.

Henry’s denial – Le Parisien claimed on Monday that in Friday’s team meeting the Barcelona star had publicly slammed Domenech – and Malouda’s clear displeasure at the manner in which he learnt of his non-selection will do nothing for morale as they head for a crucial qualifier with Group Seven leaders Serbia on Wednesday.

Henry was forced to clarify what had gone on on Friday on the eve of the 1-1 draw which left the French four points adrift of the Serbs with just three matches remaining and in danger of having to go through a play-off to progress to South Africa.

“Nothing happened on Friday evening,” protested Henry to French TV station TF1.

“There was a discussion between the squad and the coach as is usual.

“It was a constructive discussion… which must stay between the players and the coach.

“I did not question the coach’s qualities. There was never a clash between us,” added Henry, who was quoted by Le Parisien as telling Domenech that the players had no idea where they were to play and lacked any direction.

Henry, who scored France’s goal in the Romania match, insisted the camp was a happy one, something clearly not in Malouda’s vocabulary.

“I saw when I entered the dressingroom that there no shirt had been prepared for me,” the Chelsea star – who has enjoyed distant relations with Domenech having criticised him – told RTL radio station in an interview recorded on Sunday but only broadcast on Monday.

“I deduced from that that I was in either the starting line-up or the substitutes bench, that is how I came to learn of it.

“I was surprised, I thought at the very least I would feature at some stage.

“However, it is important to support ones friends, even from the stands, one has to get over one’s disappointment.

“One is powerless to do anything sitting in the stands, one has fleas in ones pants, but that is how it is, it is the choice of the coach.

“It is a delicate matter to discuss, and is not an agreeable experience to live through, but it is important not to think about it too much, even if it is disappointing.”

PARIS (AFP)