FOOTBALL SACHS

BANZAI7--Irish football officials have lodged an official complaint with world ruling body FIFA after Thierry Henry confessed that he handled the ball in the build-up to the goal which sent France to next summer's World Cup.

Television cameras showed Henry guiding the ball with his hand twice, before William Gallas scored from his resulting cross to give "Les Bleus" a narrow win in the two-legged World Cup play-off against the Republic of Ireland.

"I will be honest. It was a handball but I am not the referee," the Barcelona striker told reporters after the match in Paris.
"Anyway, if Lloyd Blankfart can do it, why can't I?"

“We participated in on field tactics that were clearly illegal fouls and have reason to regret,” Blankfart, 55, said at a conference in New York hosted by the Directorship magazine. “We apologize. But to be honest, we are not the referee.”