World Cup 2010 Qualification - Europe

Misleading the ref is a potential red card offence. The deciding event in a (if the tabs economic analysis is to be believed) billion pound match must constitute, at the very least, the maximum punishment. Therefore a three match ban should be a starting point. Given his offence won france passage to the WCF, disallowing his participation seems proportionate. A one or two week's salary fine seems minimal.

Misleading the ref in terms of diving in the penalty area is no more than a yellow card offence. Should every handball that the referee doesn't spot result in a three match ban ? And are you really suggesting that the size of the penalty for an infringement should be determined be the significance of the result ? So a bad tackle in a decisive match in the Champions League, for example, should carry with it a longer ban than a mid-table clash in the English Premier League ? That's just bizarre.

Overall, yes, he handled it and shouldn't have done. But players of all teams commit offences all the time (err, that's why we have free-kicks, yellow and red cards etc) and not all of them get noticed by the referee. Looking to make this one particularly significant and calling for a replay or the banning of a player from the tournament is an absurd over-reaction, and almost as poor sportsmanship as the original offence.
 
Misleading the ref in terms of diving in the penalty area is no more than a yellow card offence. Should every handball that the referee doesn't spot result in a three match ban ? And are you really suggesting that the size of the penalty for an infringement should be determined be the significance of the result ? So a bad tackle in a decisive match in the Champions League, for example, should carry with it a longer ban than a mid-table clash in the English Premier League ? That's just bizarre.

Overall, yes, he handled it and shouldn't have done. But players of all teams commit offences all the time (err, that's why we have free-kicks, yellow and red cards etc) and not all of them get noticed by the referee. Looking to make this one particularly significant and calling for a replay or the banning of a player from the tournament is an absurd over-reaction, and almost as poor sportsmanship as the original offence.

A handball can be a red card. A professional foul is a red card. Misleading the ref can be a red card. The authority is already there.

That said I dont call for any exceptional punishment for henry, just that his offence justifies the extremis of the law. If not now than when?
 
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