Speaking of blatant handballs, this next controversy would cost a nation their place at a World Cup finals and sully the image of one of the game's greatest players. After losing the first leg of their 2010 World Cup qualifier, Ireland went to Paris and took the lead through Robbie Keane's strike. With the game finely balanced 1-1 on aggregate and a place at the world's biggest football tournament at stake, this tense encounter went into extra-time with the possibility of a penalty shoot-out. Yet it never got that far because Thierry Henry clearly handled the ball on the byline to stop it going out of play before passing across goal into the feet of William Gallas to smash home. Giovanni Trapattoni's brave Irish side hurtled out of the World Cup and despite Henry ADMITTING he had indeed handled in the build-up to the crucial winner, which made it 2-1 to France on aggregate, and then calls for the match to be replayed, the French went through. There would however be a measure of karma as Les Bleus endured a dismal tournament in South Africa, finishing rock-bottom of Group A with just one point to their names.