DUBLIN � Ireland appealed to France and soccer authorities Thursday to replay their World Cup playoff after an obvious hand ball by Thierry Henry produced the winning goal.

Ireland�s government joined the country�s soccer association in demanding Wednesday�s 1-1 draw in France be replayed in Paris. Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni dismissed the prospect as �impossible.�
In extra time, Henry twice handled the ball, then passed to William Gallas in the Irish penalty box for the deciding goal.
France advanced to next year�s World Cup in South Africa with a 2-1 total-goals score. At the time of Henry�s actions, the game was 17 minutes from reaching a penalty-kick shootout.
�If that result remains, it reinforces the view that if you cheat you will win,� said Irish Justice Minister Dermot Ahern, adding that two French players appeared offside from a free kick that preceded the goal.
�Millions of people worldwide saw it was a blatant double hand ball, not to mention a double offside,� Ahern said. �We should put the powers that be in the cozy world of FIFA on the spot and demand a replay.�
The Football Association of Ireland cited FIFA�s own precedent. In 2005, the world�s governing body invalidated the result of a World Cup qualifier between Uzbekistan and Bahrain following a referee�s critical error.
Trapattoni appeared to immediately undercut that appeal by offering his own assessment of FIFA politics.
�I know it�s impossible to repeat the game,� Trapattoni said.
Instead, he urged FIFA and the European soccer�s governing body to consider video replays, saying what happened to Ireland �can be repeated in the future. That�s why we have to stop it.�
In Switzerland, FIFA declined to comment specifically on Ireland�s protests but pointed to its rule forbidding second-guessing of on-field decisions by referees.
John Delaney, the Football Association of Ireland�s chief executive, said he doubted FIFA would respond positively unless French soccer authorities agreed to Ireland�s call for a rematch.
�There is a team that should be in the World Cup today, and that�s us,� Delaney said, adding, �It�s up to them, in particular the French, to recognize there was a travesty last night, an injustice.�
Earlier, Ireland assistant manager Liam Brady and several players appealed to France�s sense of honor.
�If the game�s going to survive, it�s got to be an equal playing field,� Brady said. �If we�re going to have integrity and dignity in the world game, the game should be replayed. And we�ll go to Paris to play it.�
Some Irish players accused Henry of lying when he told them that his hand ball had been accidental and instinctive.
�I asked him on the pitch: Did you hand-ball it?� Irish left back Kevin Kilbane said. �And he said, �Yes � but I didn�t mean it.��
Kilbane said he also asked referee Martin Hansson after the final whistle if he had seen the play.
�He said: �I can 100 percent say it wasn�t hand ball.� When he said that to me, I knew full well that he was just lying to me because he hadn�t even seen it.�
Irish lawmaker Joe McHugh said France should follow the 1999 precedent set by Arsenal�s French manager, Arsene Wenger, who volunteered to replay a match in England�s FA Cup after Arsenal won on an unfair goal.
�Throughout the country today there is an air of bitterness. We were beaten unfairly and there is general disgust in France too,� McHugh said. �Friends of mine who attended last night�s game phoned me this morning from a cafe in Paris to report that the French people are ashamed and do not regard this as an honest victory.�
Ahern said he doubted FIFA would sanction a replay. He reflected the widespread Irish view that the sport�s powers favored France�s qualification.
�They probably won�t grant it as we are minnows in world football,� Ahern said, �but let�s put them on the spot anyway.�
Several Irish players were in tears after the game and rued their missed scoring chances after outplaying France much of the night.
�We got robbed,� Ireland defender Sean St. Ledger said. �We feel cheated. We were the better team.�
Henry�s hand ball, he said, �has cost a lot of us our dreams.�