William Gallas's extra-time equaliser, created with the help of Thierry Henry's handball, in Wednesday's 1-1 draw in Paris that sent France through with a 2-1 aggregate win must already be among the most replayed of recent years.
It has also become one of the most widely discussed with both team captains, the rival federations, political figures from the two countries and a host of managers across Europe giving an opinion on the issue on Friday.
Despite Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni saying that requesting a replay was pointless, the FA of Ireland (FAI), supported by the country's government, duly did so on Thursday.
As widely expected, FIFA wasted little time in rejecting the plea, issuing a statement on Friday saying:
"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."
Soon afterwards, Henry issued a statement that said: "Naturally, I feel embarrassed at the way we won and feel extremely sorry for the Irish who definitely deserve to be in South Africa.
FAIREST SOLUTION
"Of course, the fairest solution would be to replay the game but it is not in my control. There is little more I can do apart from admit the ball had contact with my hand leading up to our equalising goal and I feel very sorry for the Irish.
"I am not a cheat and never have been."
Ireland captain Robbie Keane responded with his own appeal.
"To make such a statement took courage and honour, and all of us recognise that," he said. "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 the French Football Federation might accept the wishes of both captains in the best interests of the game."
The FAI board met later in the day and echoed Keane's plea, calling on the French federation to "join with it and the captains of the French and Irish teams... to request a replay from FIFA that would protect the integrity of the game worldwide and the pride of the French national team."
In Dublin, Irish fans protested outside the French Embassy while Irish politicians continued to rail against the injustice.
Pat 'The Cope' Gallagher, leader of the Fianna Fail group in the European Parliament, said he would raise the issue when the parliament convenes in Strasbourg on Monday.
FRENCH EMBARRASSMENT
As club managers around Europe spoke to the media ahead of their weekend games, Henry's handball dominated the agenda, with his former boss at Arsenal, Frenchman Arsene Wenger, defending the striker but agreeing a replay should take place.
"Football and sport in general is full of heroes who have cheated 10 times more than Thierry - he is super-fair," he s
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