Ruud Gullit has said that it was natural for fans of the Republic of Ireland to react with disappointment at the news that the FAI had been "bought off" by FIFA in the aftermath of the Thierry Henry handball incident during a World Cup play-off against France in 2009.
The former Netherlands, AC Milan and Chelsea midfielder acknowledged that the compensation offer made to Ireland's football governing body was one made in order to sweep under the rug any potential controversy in the run-up to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
However, the Dutchman said he was "more mad about Ireland" than he was at FIFA when he first heard the story and sympathized with the Irish players who featured for the Boys in Green on that night in Paris.
“Of course they are very disappointed,” said Gullit, speaking as an ambassador for Carlsberg during the visit of the Premier League trophy to Dublin on Wednesday. “Of course you are, you've been bought off for five million. That's disappointing.
“It's not my federation, it's a difficult thing [to judge from an outside perspective]. Look, on the other hand you think to yourself, 'Look, we were knocked out anyway, at least get something out of it.'”
Continue reading Ruud Gullit's thoughts on the Thierry Henry handball saga on Extratime.ie.
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