Ireland asks FIFA for France World Cup replay

Angry Ireland called on FIFA Thursday to allow its World Cup playoff with France to be replayed, as a dispute over Thierry Henry's blatant handball threatened to become a diplomatic row.

Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen said he supported the Football Association of Ireland's request, and promised to raise the issue with French President Nicolas Sarkozy at an EU summit.

Video replays showed Henry used his hand to stop the ball going out of play in extra-time of Wednesday's match, before he passed to William Gallas to head the goal for a 2-1 aggregate win which sent France to South Africa.

"The blatantly incorrect decision by the referee to award the goal has damaged the integrity of the sport," the FAI said in a statement.

"We now call on FIFA, as the world governing body for our sport, to organise for this match to be replayed."

Shay Given: Henry has cheated me

Shay Given fears Thierry Henry could have cheated him out of his last chance to play in a second World Cup.

The 33-year-old Republic of Ireland keeper, the senior man in the current squad, represented his country in the Far East in 2002, and had high hopes of doing so again in South Africa next summer.

He and his team-mates were within touching distance of doing just that at the Stade de France last night when Henry intervened.

For once, it was not the France skipper's brilliance or blistering pace which caused such excitement, but a blatant handball which was missed by Swedish referee Martin Hansson seconds before the Barcelona superstar crossed for William Gallas to send the home side through 2-1 on aggregate deep into extra-time.

FIFA rule out France vs Ireland replay

The Republic of Ireland's pleas to have their World Cup clash with France replayed are likely to fall on deaf ears.

The Football Association of Ireland has submitted a formal complaint to FIFA after France's controversial play-off victory in Paris last night, and that is currently under consideration.

Chief executive John Delaney has called on the governing body to uphold "the integrity of the game" after match referee Martin Hansson failed to spot Thierry Henry's handball as he fed William Gallas to score the decisive extra-time goal at the Stade de France.

However, a FIFA source has told Press Association Sport: "There is no way the game can be replayed.

"To do so would cause absolute chaos for football. If it was replayed, then every match in the future would also be subject to these calls for a replay any time a referee misses an incident.

Controversy as French seal World Cup spot

Former champions France flattered to deceive before securing their World Cup spot in controversial fashion here Wednesday after a dramatic 1-1 draw with the Republic of Ireland at the Stade de France.

Giovanni Trapattoni's visitors, beaten 1-0 in Dublin last Saturday, had taken a shock lead in the 32nd minute through Robbie Keane and the Irish were unlucky not to score more before forcing the match to extra time.

In the first 15-minute spell France had an appeal for a penalty turned down after striker Nicolas Anelka tumbled to the turf under pressure.

Five minutes later France skipper Thierry Henry, who had moments earlier been denied a free kick after falling to the ground 25 yards out, won the match for the hosts when his angled pass amid a goalmouth scramble was met by the head of William Gallas.

Henry's pass, however, came after the ball appeared to make contact with his hand prompting a rash of immediate protests by the Irish players to referee Martin Hansson.

Slovenia stun Russia to reach World Cup

Slovenia qualified for only their second World Cup on Wednesday with a 1-0 win over nine-man Russia in their European zone, second-leg play-off tie.

Striker Zlatko Dedic, who plays his club football for Bochum in Germany, scored the only goal just before the break. He was fastest to the ball when Valter Birsa crossed from the right with Russia's defenders caught cold.

Russia had won the first leg 2-1 in Moscow on Saturday, but Slovenia's win on Wednesday meant they qualified on the away goals rule.

"They are men of merit for continuing the Slovenian football fairy tale," said Slovenia coach Matjaz Kek.

"They have become immortal. We were better from the first minute of the game and we earned the right to go to South Africa."

WCQ Play-off: Ukraine 0-1 Greece

Dimitris Salpigidis scored the only goal as Greece clinched a place at the 2010 World Cup courtesy of a narrow victory over Ukraine.

Salpigidis timed his run to perfection just after the half-hour mark to clip a composed finish beyond Ukraine goalkeeper Andrei Piatov, following Celtic striker Giorgos Samaras' superb through-ball.

Alexei Mikhailichenko's side, needing to score twice to keep their qualification hopes alive, penned the Greeks in the own half for long spells in the second half but failed to breach a visiting rearguard inspired by goalkeeper Alexandros Tzorvas, who made a string of fine saves.

It is the first time Greece, the 2004 European Champions, have qualified for a World Cup since 1994 in the United States.

Ukraine had the advantage going into the game after they held Greece to a goalless draw in Saturday's first leg in Athens, and the hosts began brightly amid driving rain.

WCQ Play-off: Slovenia 1-0 Russia

Slovenia reached the 2010 World Cup finals at the expense of Russia thanks to Zlatko Dedic's 44th-minute goal.

The Bochum striker toe-ended in Valter Birsa's cross a minute before half-time in what proved to be the game's only goal to spark jubilant scenes at the Ljudski Vrt stadium.

Russia, who had Aleksandr Kerzhakov and Yuri Zhirkov sent off in the second half, were left to rue some poor defending and an overall disjointed performance.

Matjaz Kek kept the same eleven that started the match in Moscow, whilst Guus Hiddink brought in Lokomotiv Moscow's Renat Yanbaev at left back and moved Yuri Zhirkov further forward to the left side of midfield.

The late goal in Moscow had handed Slovenia a lifeline and they began the game with real purpose, whilst the Russians, having let a commanding two-goal cushion slip, looked nervy and disjointed, particularly in defence.

WCQ Play-off: Bosnia-Herz. 0-1 Portugal

Portugal belatedly secured their place at next summer's World Cup with an impressive performance in Zenica.

After scraping a 1-0 win in Lisbon at the weekend with a laboured showing on home turf, Carlos Queiroz's side upped their game to close out the qualifying play-off and book a ticket to South Africa.

Queiroz had midfield enforcer Raul Meireles to thank as he scored the only goal of the game as his team-mates missed several clear chances.

The home side had it all to do but their task was not easy. And the occasion seemed to go to their heads as they stuttered from the outset and relied too heavily on Wolfsburg hitman Edin Dzeko up front.

Portugal were well-drilled throughout, however, with Pepe leading the defence impressively as a holding midfielder with Bruno Alves behind him.

World Cup Qualifier Play-off Review

William Gallas' controversial extra-time winner spared France's blushes as the Republic of Ireland's dreams were dashed in a 2-1 aggregate loss.

The Arsenal defender bundled home skipper Thierry Henry's cross 13 minutes into extra-time, although the Barcelona star appeared to handle before he picked out his team-mate in the middle.

It was tough on Ireland who had levelled the aggregate scores through Robbie Keane's 32nd-minute strike and threatened to take the lead as John O'Shea and Damien Duff passed up glorious opportunities.

Slovenia reached the 2010 World Cup finals at the expense of nine-man Russia thanks to Zlatko Dedic's 44th-minute goal.

The Bochum striker toe-ended in Valter Birsa's cross a minute before half-time in what proved to be the game's only goal to spark jubilant scenes at the Gradski Vrt stadium.

I'd have killed myself if I listened to critics: Domenech

Under-pressure France coach Raymond Domenech insisted Friday that if he took his growing army of critics seriously, he would have killed himself by now.

The controversial coach could find himself out of work by Wednesday night if France, the 1998 world champions, fail to beat Ireland in a two-legged play-off and miss out on the 2010 World Cup finals.

Runners-up just three years ago, France missed out on automatic qualification to Serbia, a failure which only added fuel to the fire.

"People can say what they want, when they want. I stopped listening to them a long time ago, otherwise I would have committed suicide," said Domenech on Friday, the eve of their first leg tie with the Irish at Croke Park.

The French coach was in tetchy mood as he faced the media after arriving in heavy rain in Dublin.

World Cup chaos fears as Egypt, Algeria clash

Threats of violence in Cairo have overshadowed the final round of 2010 World Cup qualifiers in Africa this weekend with three places in South Africa up for grabs.

Egypt host bitter rivals Algeria Saturday in the potentially explosive highlight of a nine-match schedule and already-qualified Ghana meet Mali in the sole Sunday fixture.

Cameroon or Gabon will go through from Group A, Tunisia or Nigeria from Group B and Algeria or Egypt from Group C while Group D table-toppers Ivory Coast, Group E winners Ghana and hosts South Africa are already through.

Wins for Cameroon away to Morocco and Tunisia away to Mozambique will seal places at the first World Cup to be staged in Africa while a win, draw or one-goal loss for Algeria returns them the finals after a 23-year absence.

A two-goal victory for Egypt would mean a play-off in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on November 18 and the 'Pharaohs' would qualify directly for South Africa if they triumph by a wider margin at home.

France, Portugal face WC play-off test of nerve

The prospect of a World Cup without Cristiano Ronaldo and Thierry Henry will move a step closer if Portugal and France come unstuck in the first leg of their World Cup play-offs on Saturday.

Having failed to secure automatic qualification for the South Africa showpiece, Portugal must overcome Bosnia-Herzegovina while France face a stern test against Giovanni Trapattoni's rejuvenated Republic of Ireland.

Both France and Portugal, who lost to the French in the 2006 semi-finals, have been hampered by injury, with Les Bleus deprived of the services of Franck Ribery and Portugal missing talismanic captain Ronaldo.

France coach Raymond Domenech, apparently immune to the welter of public criticism which has rained down on him for much of his tenure, insists the French will go through.

Germany goalkeeper Enke commits suicide

German international goalkeeper Robert Enke has been killed after he threw himself under a train at a level crossing, police said on Tuesday.

"There has been fatality at a level crossing at Neustadt am Rubenberge," police spokeswoman Martina Stern told AFP.

"He threw himself under a train and died of his injuries. It was definitely suicide," she added.

Jorg Neblung, a close friend and advisor to the six-times capped goalkeeper, also confirmed it was suicide.

"I can confirm that it was suicide," he said.

"Robert took his own life shortly before six o'clock (1700GMT).

"A press conference in Hannover on Wednesday will reveal more details," he added.

FIFA says to hold Maradona hearing on Sunday

FIFA said that it will hold a disciplinary hearing on Diego Maradona on Sunday over the Argentinian coach's sexually-explicit rant after his team's World Cup qualification.

"The FIFA Disciplinary Committee, chaired by Marcel Mathier, will grant the head coach of Argentina a hearing, which will take place the day after the international friendly match between Spain and Argentina in Madrid," said football's world ruling body in a statement on Tuesday.

Maradona rounded on his critics after Argentina's 1-0 win over Uruguay in October, a victory which saw the two-time world champions squeeze nervously into next year's finals in South Africa.

World football governing body's head Sepp Blatter said Maradona may have flouted regulations which could result in a fine of up to 29,400 dollars and/or suspension.

"According to article 58.a anyone who harms the dignity of a person through acts or words can be punished," he had said, reacting to Maradona's rant.

Johnson out of England squad

Liverpool full-back Glen Johnson has withdrawn from the England squad to play Brazil in Qatar this Saturday, the Football Association announced on Tuesday.

Johnson did not train with the rest of the England squad here on Tuesday after playing in Monday's 2-2 Premier League draw against Birmingham City.

He was the only outfield player in Fabio Capello's squad for the Brazil friendly in Doha to play at Anfield, with Reds midfielder Steven Gerrard missing the trip because he is recovering from a groin injury.

During a standard recovery session on Tuesday it was discovered that the 25-year-old Johnson, who played for the full 90 minutes at Anfield, had suffered a slight injury.

Johnson's exit leaves Wes Brown as the only right-back still in the squad, although Shaun Wright-Phillips or James Milner could drop back from midfield.

Tottenham top 'Big Four' in transfer market

Tottenham Hotspur's latest financial results published Tuesday showed the club had spent nearly 150 million pounds on transfers in the last 16 months, surpassing the English Premier League's 'Big Four'.

Spurs's spending topped that of English champions Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool in the same period and was only bettered by cash-rich Premier League rivals Manchester City.

Yet Tottenham were still able to announce record pre-tax profits for the year ending June 2009, helped by the sale of Dimitar Berbatov to United and Robbie Keane to Liverpool.

Spurs spent 119.3 million pounds in the financial year, with nearly 30 million pounds invested since on bringing several other players, including former Portsmouth duo Peter Crouch and Niko Kranjcar, to White Hart Lane.

Tottenham are currently fourth in the table, a position that will qualify them for next term's lucrative Champions League if they are still there at the end of this season.

Ronaldo out of World Cup play-offs

Real Madrid's Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo was ruled out on Tuesday of his country's crucial World Cup play-off matches after undergoing medical tests on a troublesome ankle injury.

Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz had insisted he intended to call up the world's most expensive player for the matches against Bosnia-Herzegovina on November 14 and 18 despite opposition from Real but in the end the Portuguese Football Federation admitted that Ronaldo would not be fit enough.

"The player is not in good enough physical condition to train with the squad ahead of the play-offs," read a statement by the federation.

Both Portugal - World Cup semi-finalists in 2006 - and Real had been locked in a battle over Ronaldo with the club insisting that he was not fit enough to travel.

Crouch eager for England to pass Brazil exam

England striker Peter Crouch believes this week's friendly against five-time World Cup winners Brazil will provide a true test of the team's progress under Italian manager Fabio Capello.

Saturday's fixture against the Confederations Cup winners will be England's penultimate game before Capello must pick a provisional squad for next year's World Cup finals in South Africa.

And giant Tottenham striker Crouch, who has scored 16 goals in 17 internationals, cannot wait to go up against Brazil.

"If we are going to have any aspirations of winning the World Cup we need to play the best," he said after training here on Tuesday.

"We have to find out about their strengths and weaknesses and see how close we are to them.