In the midst of an escalating financial scandal, FIFA admitted Thursday to giving Ireland $5 million in compensation for missing a place at the 2010 World Cup after Thierry Henry’s handball set up France’s winning goal.
FIFA disclosed the payment after the money was mentioned in a radio interview by Football Association of Ireland chief executive John Delaney. Neither FIFA nor the FAI had previously disclosed the agreement to stave off legal action following the contentious 2009 playoff game.
The revelation was made two days after FIFA President Sepp Blatter announced under pressure that he will resign, likely by March. Blatter, who has headed FIFA since 1998, was re-elected to a fifth term last Friday despite criminal investigations into FIFA that included U.S. criminal charges against executive committee members and arrests at the FIFA Congress in Zurich.
The loan highlights the lack of transparency that plunged FIFA into the biggest scandal of its 111-year history. Northern Ireland’s Jim Boyce, who retired as a FIFA vice president last week, called for an investigation into the Irish loan.
In November 2009, Ireland was furious that Henry’s handball in extra time enabled William Gallas to score and give France a 2-1 aggregate win and a place in the 32-nation field on South Africa. Swedish referee Martin Hansson was criticized heavily for not making a handball call.
FIFA rejected requests by the FAI that the game be replayed and Ireland be added to the field as an extra team. The compensation deal risks setting a precedent that other disgruntled teams could try to apply if in-game decisions go against them.