St Ledger unhappy at Henry escape

Defender questions Fifa stance

Last updated: 18th January 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

St Ledger unhappy at Henry escape

St Ledger: Shocked by Fifa decision

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Republic of Ireland defender Sean St Ledger admits he was shocked but not surprised that Fifa decided not to punish Thierry Henry

A Fifa delegation met on Monday to discuss Henry's controversial handball in France's World Cup finals play-off victory over the Republic of Ireland and it was decided the Barcelona ace would not be sanctioned over his actions

St Ledger, who was a member of the Republic side that played in Paris in the play-off game, believes Fifa have set a dangerous precedent by not singling out Henry for some sort of punishment.

"Obviously I don't want players to get banned, I'm not a fan of that," St Ledger told Radio Five Live. "But (the decision) promotes 'if you can get away with it, do it'.

"I've seen (the incident) again today and I still think he intentionally, the second time, handballed it. I still feel a bit hurt from it."

The Republic were angered even before the match by Fifa's decision to seed the play-offs, which allowed big sides like Portugal and France to avoid each other.

Asked for his opinion on the decision, St Ledger said: "I think it's a poor one.

"They said they've got no legal foundation but they still had the power to change the rules and introduce the seedings.

"I think if they've got that kind of power to change that rule I don't understand why they haven't got the power to make a ruling here.

"It's confusing but at the same time not surprising."

St Ledger concluded: "It won't surprise me if France go on and win the World Cup."

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