Former Premier League star Richard Dunne has insisted France shouldn’t have gone to the World Cup in 2010 following a hugely controversial qualifying moment.
Dunne never got the chance to play for the Republic of Ireland at a World Cup after he was an unused substitute during the country’s last tournament appearance in 2002, and he was robbed of the opportunity to play at South Africa 2010.
Ireland went unbeaten in qualifying but six draws from 10 games meant Italy finished six points clear of Giovanni Trapattoni’s Ireland to qualify automatically. While The Boys in Green had to play France in a two-legged play-off that would become infamous in football history.
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Having been beaten 1-0 in Dublin by Nicolas Anelka’s goal, Ireland headed to the Stade de France needing to win to reach the World Cup, and they got off to a dream start when Robbie Keane scored shortly after the half-hour mark, with the game eventually going to extra-time.
However, one of the most controversial moments in World Cup history followed when William Gallas tapped home Thierry Henry’s cross, but the Arsenal legend’s assist had come via controlling with his hand, bringing the ball down into his path.
The incident was not spotted by the on-field officials and the goal was given as France qualified at Ireland’s expense. Henry later issued an apology, but the damage was already done. Everyone had seen it, except referee Martin Hansson.
Speaking exclusively to Daily Star Sport, via William Hill’s Jude Bellingham World Cup 2026 goals, Dunne admitted he has accepted Henry’s apology, but feels the game should have been replayed.
“I have accepted it [Henry’s apology], yeah, of course. I mean the way FIFA is at the moment it probably should have been replayed,” he said. “I don’t think there’s been worse requests than that, but now it is what it is.
“Football is like that sometimes; it kicks you in the balls and you lose out. That was our time then so it was unfortunate, but it is what it is.”
Ireland did write to FIFA requesting a replay, but that was swiftly rejected as the sport’s governing body claimed in a statement: “As is clearly mentioned in the Laws of the Game, during matches, decisions are taken by the referee and these decisions are final.”
Henry revealed years later to Canal Plus what he said to the broken Irish players and their reaction: “You are talking about people I spent so many times on the pitch with.
“I just said to them, ‘Yes, it was hand, I’m sorry.’ And you know what? They told me: ‘We don’t blame you.’
“I spoke honestly – it was a reflex. A reflex by a competitor, just like when you reach out for the ball on the line when your goalkeeper is beaten.”
At the time, Dunne was critical of Henry and the match officials, fuming: “I think it was quite blatant that he cheated. The linesman was in line with the incident, it wasn’t even a hard decision to make.”
But reflecting on the moment to L’Equipe years on, Dunne didn’t hold back on Henry’s gesture when he had come to apologise and sat on the turf next to him.
“He felt regret and told me he had handballed it. I was thinking, ‘why are you telling me this?’ Could you not have told the referee a few minutes ago? It was a difficult moment for me because I was dejected from our elimination, and his admission made it even worse for me,” he said.
The defender was asked whether he’d have done the same thing and added: “Absolutely not (I wouldn’t have done the same thing). What Henry did at that moment was a bit of showmanship. A way to show that he was a nice guy and that he wanted to apologise… It was nonsense.”
If it’s any consolation for Ireland, France were an embarrassment at the World Cup that year. Les Bleus picked up one point and went out in the group stage after having massive internal problems, as they even refused to train for manager Raymond Domenech.
Henry failed to start a game at the tournament and retired from international football at the end of the humiliating tournament which remains a stain on French football.