Well done FIFA, after working your own personal piece of magic you managed to ensure that next seasons World Cup will be as marketable as possible due to your complicity in the fates of both the Republic of Ireland and Bosnia Herzegovina.
The simple fact that one of the major TV sponsors of the premier international event happens to be French TV conglomerate Canal Plus points to the opinion that had France not made the Finals proper then a possible issue would have been encountered.
And then, to add salt into the Republic of Irelands wounds, Thierry Henry decides to handle the ball twice in assisting him to control it in the Irish box and play in William Gallas for the equalising goal that sealed Irish fates.
The simple fact of the matter is that Ireland should never have been forced to face the French without this tie being nominated by the usual and normal means – names from the hat. However FIFA decided that a World Cup without France and Portugal would be a lesser spectacle and they therefore took their dodgy stance.
I for one am disgusted by this type of cheating and it only goes to show that Football as we know it has now changed forever. No longer is it the beautiful game with honour and virtue, it is a marketable asset that requires to be sustainable for all the mini empires that have been allowed to be developed from it. Any element that remained of grass roots Football that has endured the corporatisation of the sport died in the Stade de France last night. I doubt I will be able to watch the finals in South Africa next summer as a result of this.
Yours in Celtic
Clydebuilt