Yes, I saw it on television: Thierry Henry clearly used his hand to control the ball prior to France's deciding goal in Wednesday's winner-take-all play-off against the Republic of Ireland.

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The ref never saw the handball and neither did his assistant, the reason being that the pass intended for Henry was a deep ball towards the by-line.

Neither the ref nor the assistant had time to position himself to clearly see Henry’s every move as their view towards the French striker was blocked by more than one player.

Was it a goal that should have been disallowed? Yes.

Was this an unjust outcome? On this point I am not too sure.

Prior to this event, France had a goal disallowed because of an offside call. There was a controversial non-call when Nicolas Anelka was challenged by Shay Given in the box.

If you are questioning the decision to allow the goal, you should also question these events. Plus question all calls made during the match.

No matter how small an infraction might have been, we will never know how big an impact it could have had on the game.

Having seen the performances, was it unfair that Ireland lost? Of course.

The Irish lads played their hearts out whilst the French team were lost. Yet this game is measured by goals scored.

Ireland should have rammed in at least two more goals on the basis of their superb play. Yet they did not manage to do so, and thus were in danger of being eliminated by a controversial decision.

But all of this is a moot point. What matters is that FIFA cannot overturn such a result unless there is referee bribery involved. If this is simply about a bad call from an official, there is no way on earth that FIFA can allow a replay without unbelievable consequences.

In effect, they would negate previous stances that the referee’s perception is the deciding word in matches. For one thing, this would question prior controversial decisions that have been made.

Should Argentina be deprived of a World Cup win because of Maradona’s 'hand of God' goal? Many countries have been denied a qualification by controversial whistles; should FIFA make such a decision, these associations may as well go to court and file a lawsuit against FIFA for revenues lost.

The other problem is, such a decision would question the authority of referees and set a precedent that would make the game uncontrollable. Every call, every decision will be questioned by somebody!

How do you select which plea is acceptable and which is not? How can you tell Ireland: You can replay your match but no one else can.

For example, Bosnia could certainly argue that there were some unfair calls in their game, and that it ultimately cost them qualification.

In reality FIFA have a really easy decision to make. Do you back up the stance the association has taken since its first day, or do you open the floodgates for questions from the past and uncertainty for the future?