I watched in horror last night has one of the world’s finest footballers, Thierry Henry cheated in order to secure his country’s participation in FIFA’s World Cup next year. His blatant handball allowed France to score the goal that broke Irish hearts and shattered the potential upset that would have dumped the previous finalist out next year’s showpiece. Simply stated: France don’t deserve to be making the trip to South Africa!

Something is wrong when this kind of act is allowed to go unpunished and the stain that it will surely be on Henry’s otherwise great career will be something he will have to live with for the rest of his days.

While his is a massive moral failure, there is another equally damning failure in this sad scenario: That of the beautiful game’s powers that be. Their obstinate refusal to allow the use of technology that would all but eliminate such unfairness and ensure that we all can sleep easy, is stupidity at best and plain arrogance at worse. Whilst other sporting codes have found ways to ensure greater fairness through employing technology, football stubbornly remains in the Dark Ages by denying what we all know could not only ensure the right decisions are made but that everyone is left in a better place for it.

If Henry gets what he deserves as a result of his indiscretion, no let’s call it what it is, his cheating, he might live to wish there had been technology available that could have ensured immediate justice was done.

Where is he now? Most likely having a consoling drink with one Diego Maradona. They deserve each other.