Luck of the Irish?
More ironic turn of phrase than truth, I'm afraid.
In any case, it sparked a massive debate into the introduction of video replays and post-match punishments for cheating. FIFA president Sepp Blatter is standing fast against video replays, claiming that it would remove the human face of football, and create a disparity between a pickup game in the park and a cup final played in the greatest stadiums of the world.
I hadn't considered the difference between the professional and amateur games until the recent Champions League group game between Barcelona and Inter Milan. At one point, Inter Milan defender Christian Chivu cynically fouled midfielder Andreas Iniesta after the latter moved the ball past him with some clever footwork. Chivu promptly received a yellow card and will now miss the next game, a crucial match against Rubin Kazan of Russia. This single incident brought to mind the fine line between what is outright cheating and "professionalism".
What exactly is professionalism and how is it any different from cheating?
Players often take a few extra steps forward at a throw-in and move the ball a metre ahead for free kicks - all ‘technically' illegal but often ignored and swept under the rug fondly known as "gamesmanship".
Does Henry's handball come under this too?
Football is now a results driven game and no one remembers how well the losers lost, rather they remember who won, if not the manner of the victory.
The proof of this transformation from entertainment for fans to succeeding at all costs is reflected in Henry's handball.
Who doesn't want to go to the World Cup and have a chance at conquering the world?
Footballers, for all their magic and fancy ball skills are all too human and are subject to the flaws of the human condition.
It is not the hand of God, but the hand of humanity that reaches out in a moment of weakness and uncertainty.
Diving is another issue that demands a solid distinction between cheating and embellishing. It stems from this simple question running through a (hypothetically) honest footballer's mind - "How can I be sure that the referee can see that the other player is fouling me?"
Not all fouls take out a player's legs from beneath him.
Constant shin hacking is illegal but not likely to grab the referee's attention. And that is why we have commentators sagely nodding and conferring amongst one another that so-and-so player is "making more of the challenge". In many ways, it is a legitimate concern of many players, especially the more talented and technical ones who dazzle fans and frustrate opponents.
Danielle de Rossi falling dramatically from a relatively minor tackle might bring on the scorn from the crowd but it may also get the defending player carded which Signor de Rossi feels is deserved because of the constant kicking at his shins.
On the other hand, Jurgen Klinsmann's exuberant crash onto the ground followed by a lateral roll using his head as a fulcrum is nothing more than cheating in its most primitive form. That dive against Italy got an innocent player, who had not even touched Herr Klinsmann, ejected from the match.
Is there an answer to this riddle? Should we all sigh with a dramatic "C'est la vie" and resign ourselves to the fact the game is no longer the romantic spectacle we want it to be?
Cynics would consign us to living in the dreams of young boys playing in the field and tell us to grow up and face the facts like men. But if the result of growing wise to the world is seeing one's cherished game brought down by cheating and the pursuit of pure results without the performance to earn them, I think I'd like to remain a boy playing against men.
Jay Nair, a sport Columnist for homepageDAILY shouts it out, how it is...From the Terraces