Noncall helps France gain spot in World Cup field
France qualified for its fourth consecutive World Cup when officials missed an obvious hand ball by Thierry Henry that led to William Gallas' overtime goal in a 1-1 tie against Ireland last night.
Greece, Slovenia, Portugal, Algeria, Uruguay also advanced to next year's tournament yesterday on the final day of qualifying, completing the field next year in South Africa .
The 32 nations will be drawn into eight groups on Dec. 4 in Cape Town, and the first World Cup on the African continent opens June 11.
With help from Swedish referee Martin Hansson, who failed to call the hand ball, France avoided a penalty-kicks shootout at Saint-Denis, outside Paris, and won the home-and-home, total-goals playoff 2-1. The French had come away with a 1-0 victory in Dublin last Saturday.
The game appeared headed to penalty kicks when Florent Malouda sent a free kick to Henry at the post to the right of goalkeeper Shay Given in the 103rd minute. Henry got between defender Paul McShane and Given, stopped the ball with his left hand, then used his hand again and poked the ball with his outstretched right foot in front of the net.
"I will be honest, it was a hand ball. But I'm not the ref," Henry said.
In other soccer news:
* The United States finished its 2009 schedule with a 3-1 loss to Denmark. The U.S. finished the year with 13 wins, eight losses and three ties, qualifying for its sixth straight World Cup and losing in the finals of the FIFA Confederations Cup and the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Colleges
* The NCAA's latest graduation numbers show nearly four out of five student-athletes earn their diplomas on time, an all-time high, and federal statistics show athletes are still more likely to graduate on time than other students.
* After widespread and prolonged student protests at U.S. universities, sports apparel maker Russell Athletic says it will open a new factory in Honduras and rehire ousted union workers as part of an agreement with a group that monitors labor conditions abroad for colleges. Student pressure over concerns about Russell Athletic's labor practices had prompted nearly 100 colleges and universities to drop licensing deals with the company that allowed it to print clothing with colleges' names, logos and mascots.
Sport Stops
* The International Olympic Committee stripped Bahraini middle-distance runner Rashid Ramzi of his 1,500-meter gold medal he won at the Beijing Olympics and disqualilfed four other athletes because of doping at the games. The IOC also disqualified German cyclist Stefan Schumacher, Croatian 800-meter runner Vanja Perisic and Greek race walker Athanasia Tsoumeleka. They did not win medals in Beijing.
* The Locust Hill golf course in suburban Rochester, N.Y., will host the LPGA Championship next June, with supermarket chain Wegmans replacing McDonald's as sponsor of the season's second major.
