The Republic appealed for a re-match following worldwide condemnation of the way France went through in Paris on Wednesday. 

But their plea was rejected by FIFA, while the French Football Federation has maintained a stony silence. But Barcelona star Henry broke ranks yesterday, saying: “Of course the fairest solution would be to replay the game but it is not in my control. 

“Naturally I feel embarrassed at the way we won and feel extremely sorry for the Irish who definitely deserve to be in South Africa. 

“There is little more I can do apart from admit that the ball had contact with my hand leading up to our equalising goal and I feel very sorry for the Irish.” 

Henry, 32, added: “I have said at the time and I will say again that, yes, I handled the ball,” he added. 

“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. 

“As a footballer you do not have the luxury of the television to slow the pace of the ball down 100 times to be able to make a conscious decision. 

“People are viewing a slow-motion version of what happened. If people look at it in full speed, you will see that it was an instinctive reaction. 

“I have never denied that the ball was controlled with my hand. I told the Irish players, the referee and the media this after the game.” 

Republic skipper Robbie Keane responded with a statement of his own, saying: “On behalf of the Republic of Ireland players, I would like to thank Thierry Henry for his statement. 

“As captain of the French team, to make such a statement took courage and honour, and all of us recognise that.

“As captain of the Republic of Ireland team, I would also be happy for a replay to happen in the interest of fair play so that whichever team qualifies can do so with their heads held high. 

“We can only hope that the French Football Federation might accept the wishes of both captains in the best interests of the game.” 

FIFA yesterday rejected the Football Association of Ireland’s formal request for a replay, say-ing: “The result of the match cannot be changed and the match cannot be replayed. 

“As is clearly mentioned in the laws of the game, during matches, decisions are taken by the referee and these decisions are final.” 

But Henry’s former manager at Arsenal and fellow Frenchman, Arsene Wenger, also believes a replay is the answer, saying:  “We want to beat Ireland properly and that didn’t happen.”