France skipper Thierry Henry (pictured) has publicly admitted to handling the ball before setting up teammate William Gallas who tied Game 2 of the World Cup playoff against Ireland (1:1) and qualified France on aggregate (2:1), but the Barcelona superstar dropped 12.55 rating points in the FTBL system after failing to score himself.

“It was definitely a handball, and it’s really tough in Ireland. I was standing behind two other players. Squillaci went for the header, but the ball bounced down and stuck to my hand and I crossed it. I am not the referee; he didn’t blow so I kept going. That’s normal. I lost the FA Cup final when the defender handballed. Everybody saw it but the referee. It’s Normal, it’s the least I could have done,” said Henry in an interview after the game.
 

Despite the loss in the FTBL system, Henry retained the 2nd spot in our ranking of French forwards with a score of 157.1 points. But he could very well drop further in his next game, as he faces a daunting plank of 18 rating points to beat. He will not be able to beat that plank without scoring at least a goal.