Think of all those brand names that players pick up as endorsements. And make bags of money in the process. And the team strips emblazoned with corporate logos. But maybe it's time for a new logo to be branded across the chests of our favorite soccer stars -- those ones who like to flop, or use their hand to earn a goal. Welcome to soccer's growing, dynamic brand: CHEAT
To brand a player a cheat is a tough, ugly call. Some would argue that unfair advantage is part of the game. Yet, French star Tierry Henry deliberately used his palm to knock Ireland out of the World Cup Finals on Wednesday. Shouting and cursing will follow him like the smell of rotting escargot but it will come to nothing. The hubris of star players demonstrates their supremacy over the game. Henry will shrug his shoulders and be happy that his World Cup appearance bonus is secure.
But back to that CHEAT endorsement. FIFA will no doubt be happy that its marketing department has all the big teams in its World Cup 2010 tent, while gearing up its message of liberty, equality and fraternity for all the soccer-loving nations. But maybe it's time to add a new positive campaign like FIFA's 'No to Racism' effort. We need a 'Kick Cheats Out of Football' crusade. A yellow card for simulation needs to become a three-month ban. A Hand of Henry goal needs to be a year ban.
Today, a ruthless manufacturer in China could make three million fake Henry tops with a new endorsement and sell them to every man, woman and child in Ireland. They will not forget the Hand of Henry. The Irish memory is long.
Alan Black is the co-author of the upcoming book, The Glorious World Cup - A Balls Out Guide (NAL/Penguin)
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YouTube - Thierry Henry HANDBALL France v Ireland World Cup ...
Thierry Henry handball provokes Irish justice minister to demand ...
Irish fury at Thierry Henry's handball in World Cup qualifier ...
It's clear from the video that Henry was initially trying to get a perspective of the ball by putting up his hand. At this level, it is instinctual. However, it is also apparent that he saw that the ball was going to get away from him so he made a decision to "help" the ball. He brought his hand towards the ball, not the other way around.
I am a little glad that people are overreacting a little to this incident. It shows that even if you don't get caught, you will pay for cheating.
Now if only you can do something about players who fall in faux agony when they get lightly bumped. That offends me more than Thierry Henry's handball.
It's just like the law. The law exists to be enforced - but people break it everyday. Some get away with it, and some don't.
If football/soccer is not equipped to properly make calls, then it pays the consequences. Should Henry have been expected to have told the ref on the spot that he committed a handball violation? Does a call mediation process exist?
Does a basketball player ever signal that he committed a foul? No, he concedes.
Does a tennis player say 'bring that back' because it was out?
Would Henry have had more glory and esteem had he held up his hand and said 'I touched it'?
Sure - but he didn't. Not honorable ..but not a cheat.
It would be a mistake to brand Henry " a cheat" as if it were his permanent state of mind. But in this case, he clearly cheated. His second touch of the ball condemned him. Controlling the ball with your hand to create a goal is different from other handball violations, where the instinct runs in a singular moment. There are soccer haters who will use the Hand of Henry as an excuse to continue their contemptible crusade but those of us who love the game need to come clean and recognize that cheating is on the rise and FIFA in their bunker in Zurich have allowed the rules of the game to be diminished by their inaction over the years, and their reluctance to hand out serious punishment for gross violations, and shoddy ref work.
Also, the statement in your article that Henry will "be happy that his World Cup appearance bonus is secure" is a joke. Clearly, this statement, with its inclusion of monetary gain, was made to cast Henry in a more negative light than he is already in. You act as if any other world-class striker wouldn't do the same to try to help their team. All in all, Henry's handball was foul play and deserving of a caution, but all these calls for sanctions and replays of the match are just reactionary anger and bitterness.