It was the call heard ’round the world. Everyone was on the edge of their seats, awaiting extra time as the French and Irish were deadlocked in their quests for World Cup qualification.

The 103nd minute, a set piece for France. The ball is whipped into the box. Everyone holds their breath. It comes to Thierry Henry, and he pokes it to William Gallas who heads France into the World Cup. The crowd in the Stade de France goes berserk. Irish players and staff are irate about a handball. Nothing doing. Game over.

Alright, alright, let’s not over dramatize it. C’mon now, how many people do you know who were watching that match who aren’t French or Irish ? I know I wasn’t. I didn’t care. Actually, that’s an understatement. I aggressively didn’t care. I watched The King of Queens and fell asleep while the first half was barely underway.

It was only after my mid-day nap (I was tired, shut-up) when I got a text from a friend that read: “did you see Henry’s world class cheating?”

“Now this I gotta see.” (I thought that, I didn’t say it out loud to my phone.)

I must have watched the incident a thousand times since Wednesday. It has become a media fiasco the magnitude of which I don’t think anyone could have predicted. I mean, Prime Ministers are involved. Prime Ministers. This is heavy stuff.

Was it a terrible call? Yes. Was it blatant cheating? Yes. Was it the worst call ever made? No. Was it the worst bit of cheating we’ve ever seen? No.

So with that said, let’s not go too crazy here. But we are allowed to go moderately crazy. Maybe not the worst travesty to ever befall sports, but it’s a big deal. I mean, the World Cup only comes around every four years.

First of all, Thierry Henry has been a giant in the sport over the last decade. His talent is immaculate, and he’s been one of the leaders in the campaign against racism in football. As much as he’s frustrated me as a Manchester United supporter (he owes me at least four TV remotes), you can’t help but respect the guy and his skills.

Henry’s become an icon, both in Europe and around the world, BUT he is by no means a saint on the pitch. Remember in December of 2006, how after scoring against bitter rivals Spurs, the then-Arsenal man sprinted the length of the pitch at Highbury to celebrate in front of the traveling Tottenham supporters? Let’s also not forget his *ahem* embellishment after a challenge from Carles Puyol in the knockout stages of the 2006 World Cup.

So clearly the man isn’t immune to some of the, well, let’s call them “brute” tactics of the game. I don’t really blame him. The sport is full of pretenders, divers, cheaters, and dirty players, and Henry is by no means among the worst offenders (Didier Drogba please stand up). Yet it has to be said that he is guilty of foul play once in awhile.

But what is his response each time? “I’m no cheat.” What was his reaction after the incident with Spain? “I don’t cheat.” And what was his reaction after the Ireland match? “I am not a cheat and never have been. It was an instinctive reaction to a ball that was coming extremely fast in a crowded penalty area.” Calling him an outright cheat might be going a bit far, but the fact is he did cheat with a deliberate handball and he has cheated in the past.

For the record, I think just about any player in his position would have done the same thing if it meant his country would be off to the World Cup (Robbie Keane included), but it doesn’t mean that it wasn’t cheating, nor does it mean that Henry shouldn’t be heavily criticized for it.

A lot of people who are not too fussed about the situation keep asking me, “Well, he apologized and admitted the handball. What more do you want?” How about an admission of cheating? I sympathize with Henry in a sense, in that in the middle of an intense match when your adrenaline is pumping and all you want to do is win, you might do some things without thinking. I get that. But c’mon stop with the whole “I never cheat! I always play by the book!” routine. It isn’t true. We have the evidence. And the more I watch Henry’s celebration after the goal, the less I empathize with him.

And listen, it’s great that he admitted that it was a handball immediately after the match, and a lot of players probably wouldn’t have even done that, but he needs to quit acting like a victim here. “I’m sorry, the ball attacked my hand, and then everything was going so fast that I didn’t know what was going on and the next thing I knew my hand had smacked the ball towards my foot!” Err…yea it was the ball’s fault.

But we have to give Henry some credit, because he did come out on Friday and say that a replay would be the “fairest solution” to the fiasco. A classy thing to say. But then again, it would have been a classier thing to say had he not said it after FIFA already decided against a replay (coincidence?). C’mon Thierry, you’re just trying to save face at this point. Nobody’s buying it (or at least I’m not).

In a piece for the BBC, Henry’s former Arsenal and France teammate Emmanuel Petit wrote, “There is a referee on the pitch and if he didn’t see that’s not France’s problem.”

Wrong, Emmanuel. It is France’s problem. And it’s football’s problem. What sort of example does that set? “Well, cheating is wrong, but if the stakes are high enough and you don’t get caught by the referee, it’s ok.” Sorry, I’m not accepting that. It was a blatant piece of cheating, and it shouldn’t have a place in the game.

Now anyone and everyone has been weighing in on the “should there be a replay?” debate. Here’s the bottom line: it just can’t happen.

As much as it sucks for the Irish team and their fans, a replay would just end up opening up a can of worms so large it would be impossible to contain. What next? Replay Sunderland vs. Liverpool from earlier this year with snipers at the Stadium of Light under the instruction to shoot any beach ball on sight? Then what? Replay last season’s Champions League semifinal second leg between Barcelona and Chelsea? How about we drag Gary Lineker away from Match of the Day and replay Argentina vs. England from the ’86 World Cup with Maradona’s hands tied behind his back? (Now that was cheating!) It can’t be done, shouldn’t be done, and won’t be done.

BUT if there is any silver lining to this situation, it’s this: the humongous outcry after this match should really force FIFA to address the problem of poor officiating decisions in football. Installing some sort of video review would be the ideal thing, but I’d take anything at this point (and yes, this is coming from a United supporter who watched this happen). Video replay, extra officials, trained monkeys who track each player during a match, I don’t care. We need something to address this, because it’s getting ridiculous. The possibilities are there and more importantly the technology is as well. Why not use it?

If a goal is not legal, it shouldn’t be allowed. How long would it have taken the fourth official to review Gallas’ goal and signal that it should be disallowed – 10…15 seconds? I’m ok with that. 30 seconds, even? Who cares? It’s worth the wait in the end.

If we actually solve the problem of poor officiating decisions, then we don’t even need to bother with the “replay or no replay” dilemma (of course it’d be better to just rid the game completely of cheating, but good luck with that one). And I’m not here to lambaste officials either. They’re human, and they make mistakes. Video evidence or some sort of review would let a lot of weight off their shoulders too. If they mess up a decision, they should have a chance to make it right.

Arsene Wenger hit the nail on the head with this comment: “They [FIFA] have come out with a solution with one guy behind the goal, but the best one is technology. The biggest anger for me is that we are still in 2009, sitting here where millions of people see what happened, one guy doesn’t see it and we can’t help him.”

And coming from Wenger, that’s saying something.