Honesty from Henry isn't too much to ask

Ireland have launched an appeal with FIFA over their exit from the World Cup Qualifiers. The whole world knows they won't be successful, but that doesn't mean the FAI are wasting their time. A point has been made; the whole debate remains in the public conscious that little bit longer.

If the result won't be changed then something must. The incident has not generated so much interest for no good reason. People want fair play that much is true, but nobody seems quite clear who is responsible for it.

In his defence Henry claimed 'I'm not the referee,' honest at least after the game, but should that matter? The damage has been done. As embarrassed as France may feel, they are going to the World Cup, Ireland are not.

When Martin Taylor shattered Eduardo's leg the defence put forward was that he was honest. Fans scorned, and rightly so. Whilst this incident won't leave anybody in plaster, it will deny a whole generation of young Irish fans the chance to see their countrymen on the ultimate stage. The damage to youth football could be irreparable, interest lost, youngsters glued to computer screens this summer instead of a TV set that could inspire them to emulate their heroes. For all this, 'I'm not the referee' doesn't quite seem to cut it as a defence.

When MPs were lining their pockets with our money this summer we blamed them. They tried to blame the system, those who referee the system, and we refused; a nation was angry with them and them alone, for they were the cheats.

Where's the difference? People are cheated both times, and yet people are making excuses for the cheater on this occasion. Trapattoni himself has laid the blame at the referee's door. Is it because people like Henry? Unlike the MPs he gives us pleasure and we want to excuse him.

Video technology has been called for, another debate entirely, and one that needs to be had. However, that the debate has been sparked by an incident such as this is a sad indictment for football. Methods are being looked for to catch the cheaters, rather than just looking toward a simple solution: stop cheating.

Henry could have chosen to not use his hand, when he did handle it he could have stopped the ball, but he didn't; he chose to cheat. Whatever words are said afterwards, however honest a man may be, cheating occurred, and willingly.

Does it even matter? Doesn't history just show the winner? Well on the football field that may be the case, but Henry is an idol, children look up to him, want to be him, and doing so, will copy him. That's OK because it's the referee's job to stop you.

It's not just Henry, but player after player who is adding to the problem; a generation of cheaters in all sorts of forms is being produced. These sorts of actions extend. A child takes chocolate from a shop without paying, well the police didn't stop him, and that's their job.

The answer is easy and all too obvious: honesty. It's not too much to ask in return for making a man a millionaire overnight.

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