That’s football isn’t it?

Thierry Henry is a cheat. A fantastic footballer, and for all I know a pleasant and charming individual, but on the evidence of this week’s World Cup qualifying play off second leg match in Paris between France and the Republic of Ireland a cheat.


Football and sport are often used as metaphors for business, mainly in terms of teamwork and people management. However there is also a belief that the spirit in which any game is played is as important as the skill level, and this is another ethos that can be applied to business, as in other walks of life.

There is a way of doing things that is honourable and that does not involve using an unfair advantage to get ahead. You can of course have endless debates as to what is fair or not, but deep down most of us know what is right and what is wrong in business.

Listening to Ronnie Whelan and Alex McLeish two experienced professional football people who were on Sky Sports after the game, both said that while it was clearly heartbreaking for the Irish team, they understood why Henry had done what he’d done, and therefore the Irish had to accept it and move on. “That’s football” seemed to be their message, to which the only possible reply is “Well it damn well shouldn’t be!”