Henry Considered Retirement As Republic Accept Defeat In Replay Request

November 23, 2009 8:41 a.m. EST

The Football Association of the Republic of Ireland (FAI) has admitted defeat in its quest to replay the controversial World Cup qualifying match vs France.

A handball from Theirry Henry in the build-up to France's winning goal left Ireland eliminated from the 2010 World Cup finals.

The nature of the goal left a sour taste in Ireland's collective mouth and the FAI called for the game to be replayed to protect notions of fair play.

Having had written requests to both the French Football Association and FIFA turned down the FAI have now accepted defeat, leaving FIFA free to concentrate on the World Cup finals draw which will take place, with France in it, on December 4th.

Meanwhile the 'villan' of the situation, Theirry Henry, has admitted he has considered retirement since the incident last Wednesday.

Henry, 32, told French newspaper L'Equipe that he had seriously considered his international future after the incident, claiming the "cheat" storm had left him feeling isolated.

He has been verbally attacked in many quarters, and his wikipedia page even has an announcement that reads it "is currently protected from editing due to vandalism."