As Henry shows,footballers can8217;t be trusted

8220;Something has got to be done,8221; says Graham Barber,a former Premier League and FIFA referee with hands-on experience of dealing with Henry.

The answer is not video replays. Video could have helped in Paris on Wednesday night,because replays clearly showed France8217;s captain steering the ball with his left forearm and hand onto his right foot for the pass that William Gallas then headed in.

But video isn8217;t always clear-cut. More importantly,stopping every few minutes to consult replays would ruin the flow of the game.

Football isn8217;t tennis. Technology works in that sport because play has already stopped when players use the high-tech Hawkeye system to challenge linesmen8217;s calls.

But in football,play often continues after shirt-pulling,dives,handballs and other fouls that could,in theory,be spotted on video when missed by referees. That actions flow one after another,end to end,is part of football8217;s magic. Stop-start,stop-start shouts from referees of 8220;Hang on a second,let8217;s pause and take a few seconds to look at that on television8221; would be a disaster. Might as well toss in commercial breaks while we8217;re at it,too.

Barber says frequent referrals to video would be like 8220;pulling the emergency chain on the train if someone spilled a cup of coffee.8221;

8220;I don8217;t think video cameras will work because it won8217;t work for the game,8221; he says.

But adding more officials now makes more sense than ever.

Henry most likely would have been caught red-handed had the two extra assistant referees being experimented with this season in European club football been employed for this World Cup play-off.

The additional pairs of eyes in UEFA8217;s Europa League specifically watch the goal area. Radios link the assistants to the referee.

The Swedish fireman who officiated at Stade de France,Martin Hansson,was 20 yards away when Henry used his hand,too far to see. The view of Hansson8217;s assistant on the touchline also was seemingly obscured by Gallas as he rushed in to head the goal. Until that horrible mistake,Hansson had had an excellent match,seemingly unfazed by the 79,000-strong crowd.

But an extra official alongside the goal,like in the Europa League,could have been perfectly placed to disallow Gallas8217; vital score that broke Irish hearts.

Rather than immediately tell the referee that he had broken the rules of the game,Henry charged off in celebration behind Irish 8216;keeper Shay Given8217;s goal,spreading his arms wide with joy. After the match re-started,chants of 8220;Cheat! Cheat! Cheat!8221; rang out from the thousands of Irish fans when Henry next touched the ball.

Belatedly,after the match,France8217;s record goal scorer confessed that he8217;d handled. He said the ball 8220;bounced8221; onto his hand,although it looked intentional.

As if to excuse his actions,the Barcelona forward recalled that he had been on the receiving end of a similar injustice when he played his club football for Arsenal in England.

Henry seemed amused when a reporter asked him if he8217;d considered saying something straight away to the referee.

8220;I stop,speak to him and then pass to Gallas? You8217;re funny,8221; he said.

Barber recalls yellow-carding Henry for a dive in the 2003 FA Cup final and says the player acknowledged afterward that the caution was deserved.

8220;I do think that Thierry Henry is an honourable man,8221; he says.

But the sad truth is that many players,like Henry,also do whatever they can to get away with fouls and unjust decisions. Ireland defender Sean St. Ledger acknowledged as much,in speaking about Henry8217;s handball.

8220;If it had been one of our team we8217;d have probably done the same,8221; the Times of London quoted him as saying.

So bring on more officials,or the cheats will continue to prosper.