William Gallas believes Thierry Henry was hung out to dry over his World Cup play-off handball against Ireland in 2009.
The former Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham defender was the man that scored the goal that broke Irish hearts and denied Giovanni Trapattoni’s side a place in the 2010 World Cup.
He says he never once felt bad about the way that France overcame a determined Irish outfit, despite the global outrage over Henry’s handball.
And Gallas added that Henry was abandoned by the French football authorities, as wave after wave of criticism was levelled at the Arsenal legend.
“It was crazy. For me it was difficult to understand (such an angry reaction),” he told Genting Casino.
“This was a game with a ticket to the 2010 World Cup on the line, but even so, the reaction after the result was too crazy.
“I think our country and football federation did not protect Thierry. After the game, some French pundits started to say that it was a disgrace to qualify like this.
“Don’t forget that in this period some French people didn’t want to see France at the World Cup for some reason.
“If it was another country, if it was in England, do you think that some pundits and fans would react in the same way?
“I think they would say, ‘OK, a handball is a handball. The referee didn’t see it. We won the match and now we’re going to the World Cup. I am happy.’
“In France some pundits and former players didn’t react like this. They blamed the players. They wanted Ireland to go to the World Cup and create a beautiful story.
“At the time, I wasn't happy with the way the French team and certain players were treated by some pundits and media.
“What followed the result wasn’t good. Thierry should have been given more protection.”
Gallas wasn’t aware of the handball until after the final whistle.
“To be honest, I scored the goal, but I had no idea about the handball - I didn’t see it at the time because there were players in front of me,” he said.
“I didn’t see Thierry touch the ball with his hand.
“Afterwards, in the dressing room, I realised what had happened, because the players were talking about it and told me Thierry touched the ball with his hand.
“I said, ‘Okay. The referee didn’t see it. It’s not our fault. It is the fault of the referee.’
“In the end, France went through to the World Cup. To play at the World Cup is a dream for every football player - we were happy about that. That is it. We didn’t feel bad.
“After there were a lot of questions from the media about it, my answer was always the same. We qualified and were happy to go to South Africa.
He contrasted the reaction in France to Henry’s handball to another big controversy that took place the following year at the World Cup.
Gallas asked: “Do you remember when Luis Suarez stopped Ghana scoring a goal with a handball in the quarter finals of the 2010 World Cup?
“Did you see anything in the media from Uruguay or from their fans that called the incident a disgrace?
“Was there uproar when they qualified for the next round like this? Did you see anything like that?"
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