Former Republic Of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has spoken to an Italian media about Theiry Henry’s handball during the Ireland’s 2010 World Cup play-off. Trapattoni has claimed that the president of soccer’s world governing body FIFA Sepp Blatter offered him “a way to forget” what had happened in the aftermath of the infamous incident.
Trapattoni was speaking after news broke this week that FIFA paid the FAI €5m to stop Ireland from taking legal action against the incident. Mr Trapattoni told La Stampa: “Blatter said ’meet me, we can find together a way out, a way to forget’. I do not know what he wanted. I just know that when he gave me his hand, I did not give mine because I do not have two faces. Meanwhile the FAI have also claimed that Blatter decided himself to make public their suggestion that Ireland should be a 33rd representative at the World Cup, Blatter then “personally apologised” for making suggestion public news at a second meeting between the FAI and FIFA on January 12, 2010.
The FAI also released a statement regarding the payment, a spokesman for the FAI said: “After negotiation, FIFA offered the FAI a €5m interest-free loan by way of compensation as well as a $400,000 Goal Project grant that was used for FAI Regional Football Centres.” The FAI confirmed that the money was subsequently paid into their account on January 20, 2010 and was accounted for and was later reduced to €4m.
The FAI also stated that the loan was subsequently written off in 2013, producing a letter signed by FIFA’s deputy general secretary, Markus Kattner, confirming as much.