An unpleasant whiff of injustice is polluting the air for football followers across the globe. France are through to the World Cup but only after a blatant handball from Thierry Henry.

Henry: I will be honest. It was a handball. AFP/Getty Images

Although they are celebrating qualification Les Bleus look distinctly red-faced.

If you haven’t seen the controversial goal in question it shouldn’t take you long to find. Thousands have watched it online – many leaving outraged comments, believing that Henry handled the ball to stop it going out of play.

Without that illegal act there was no way he would have been able to set up William Gallas’ winning goal. And there is no debate over his guilt, because the Barcelona star has admitted as much.

“I will be honest. It was a handball,” he confessed afterwards. However, he insists it was up to the referee to spot the incident not for him to own up.

I agree it would have been an astonishing act of sportsmanship if Henry had rushed up to the match official to tell him the truth. There was so much at stake. A World Cup without France, the champions as recently as 1998, would have been unthinkable. And if the goal was ruled out because Henry intervened he would have been vilified in his home country.

Instead, he has become a villain for football fans everywhere else. There is a real danger that Henry’s reputation will be dented. The former Arsenal man is a skilful, speedy striker, graceful and so clean-cut that razor company Gillette use him to promote their brand globally, alongside stars like Roger Federer and Tiger Woods.

However, before we rush to sign the sporting obituary of this enchanting and genial performer we need to bear two things in mind.

First, Ireland’s manager Giovanni Trappatoni, given the chance to blame Henry, instead pointed the finger at the referee for missing the incident.

Second, even if the goal had been disallowed, the Republic would not necessarily have qualified for the World Cup finals. There were still 17 minutes of extra time to be played and then the tie would have gone to a penalty shoot-out, with no guarantee that Ireland would have come out on top.

Ultimately, Le Hand of God will again call into question FIFA’s refusal to use television replays to assist the referee during a game.

Within seconds of France’s "goal," replays showed the truth to viewers around the world. When will football’s governing body see what is staring the rest of us in the face?

The apparent suicide of Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke is a stark reminder that top footballers aren’t immune from the slings and arrows that life throws our way.

We are mourning Robert Enke - Hannover 96's website has been removed of regular content.

In an age when European soccer has never been richer and the rewards for the best players have never been higher it’s easy to envy the game’s stars. Many of them earn more in a week than you or I get paid in a year, simply because they have been born with an exceptional, physical talent.

It’s not easy to empathise with people who are cheered by tens of thousands of fans every week, who travel all over the world at someone else’s expense and who can afford to buy almost anything – houses, jewellery, cars – without thinking twice.

International footballers have lifestyles we can only dream of but that doesn’t mean their lives aren’t a nightmare.

Football may only be a game but, like all professional sport, it is also big business and the pressure to achieve results is huge. Of all the players on the pitch, none is more exposed than the man guarding the net.

As England goalkeeper David James wrote, in the Guardian newspaper earlier this year, “Whereas an outfield player can risk a bad pass and expect to be covered, a goalkeeper has no margin for error. It makes us pretty pedantic and intense at times.”

Tellingly, he goes on to say, “Keepers are guarded and we become more so as we get older.”

Goalkeepers have always been viewed as independent, aloof, a bit quirky even. They pride themselves on being the rock on which a successful team can be built while running the risk that they’ll become the shaky foundations of a bad side.

Robert Enke was a good goalkeeper. He was tipped to be Germany’s number one at next year’s World Cup. After spells with clubs as famous as Barcelona and Benfica, he was playing for Bundesliga side Hannover 96 and his form had attracted interest from the mighty Bayern Munich.

But Enke’s excellence on the field couldn’t protect him from life’s vagaries off it. His two-year-old daughter died three years ago from a heart illness and his wife has admitted the player was suffering from depression. They adopted a baby girl in May and it’s thought Enke was concerned she would be taken away if the authorities learnt about his condition.

If that doesn’t seem an insurmountable problem maybe it simply underlines that Robert Enke’s death is as tragic and mystifying as anyone else’s suicide.

Footballers may be rich and privileged but, in the end, they have no special immunity against the reality of life.

Arsenal are flying. They haven’t lost since early September – a run of eleven matches – and if they win their game in hand Arsene Wenger’s side will be second in England’s Premier League.

Wenger's Arsenal have started the season brightly but doubts persist over the Gunners' long term prospects.

However, even admirers of the Arsenal manager – and I count myself among them – can’t shake a nagging concern.

Is Arsene Wenger’s obsession with beautiful football masking an ugly neglect for winning titles?

I know. I know. That sounds like one of Carrie’s diary entries from “Sex & The City” but you don’t have to be an Arsenal fan to have a crush on Wenger’s young Gunners. Their silky skills and pretty passing can set pulses racing and hearts fluttering.

But the coach who once talked about the metaphorical “prettiest wife at home” must know the best romances are marked with permanent reminders. After four trophy-less seasons, the Arsenal groupies want something to show for their courtship.

In an exclusive interview for CNN, Wenger told me that it was the intelligence of his players which made him confident Arsenal can win the Premier League. He said, “I believe that we have a fair and true chance.”

However, the biggest strengths of his team – its youthful exuberance and technical ability – is also its biggest weakness. The average age of Arsenal’s squad is 23.3, more than a year younger than any other in the Premier League and more than five years younger than the oldest squads. But how often does the youngest squad top the table?

Arsenal’s youth system has been prolific in recent seasons but Wenger has been forced to trust it because the club want to pay off the debt from their new stadium before they splash out on star names.

They have signed experienced players. Andrei Arshavin and Thomas Vermaelen both look like good signings and neither were particularly cheap. But over the same period Wenger sold Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor.

In the five years up to the end of the 2007/8 season, Arsenal’s net spending (transfer money spent minus transfer money received) was $60 million versus $730 million by Chelsea, $208 million by Liverpool and $157 million by Manchester United.[1]

Those figures prove there is an element of genius about Wenger’s work. He is a master at delivering a lot for very little. Surely, though, now is the time for Arsenal to win a major competition instead of merely illuminating it with their brilliant brand of football.

The longer the wait for another trophy goes on, the stronger the argument that Arsenal’s professor is more of a mad scientist.

What was Andre Agassi thinking? Just three years ago he retires as a sporting legend, one of the greatest tennis players of all time and a role model for the next generation of professionals.

Andre Agassi's legacy could be severely tarnished following his recent drug-taking revelations.

He’s married to sexy Steffi Graf and they have two children – a boy and a girl. They have no financial worries and, to many of us, it seems like the perfect lifestyle.

So why confess that, twelve years ago, you regularly snorted an illegal drug and then lied to the tennis authorities about it?

Agassi made it clear that he was happy for the world to hear the whole story after an exhibition match in Macau this weekend, but I think he’ll be less excited about the reaction from tennis fans and the wider public.

Glancing through internet forums and social networking sites it is clear that genuine shock has been created by the news.

It’s significant the admission has come in Agassi’s autobiography, released in time for the lucrative Christmas market. It is hard to claim that you are simply coming clean while charging fans to read that truth.

The excerpt was published in a British newspaper alongside stories about how tough Agassi’s father had been on him. However, the American may find sympathy hard to come by.

He writes that he took crystal meth because he was “in a bad way”. There he was, sitting in his luxurious Las Vegas house, a famous and wealthy sportsman, less than a year after winning Olympic gold and shortly before marrying beautiful actress Brooke Shields. Yeah, tough life.

Agassi is currently an ambassador for luxury watchmaker Longines and the company has told CNN they will stick by him. They admire his honesty and say we all make mistakes.

While that is true, Agassi’s lapse wasn’t a one-off. He continued taking the drug for many months and then lied to the ATP when he tested positive. He told the tour that he had accidentally ingested the narcotic after drinking from a spiked drink belonging to his assistant.

With hindsight, although the ATP followed the correct procedure of investigation concerning the incident, how can we have faith in a system that Agassi managed to circumvent with such ease? Possibly, like the rest of Agassi’s admirers – until now – they couldn’t believe such a respected player would make such a big mistake.

No doubt the ATP will be watching the reaction to Agassi’s revelations carefully. While we have all been jaded by the quantity of drugs in sport stories this one may yet gain some momentum.

If Agassi had admitted his drug use at the time he was facing a three month ban. Instead, he played on. Unsuccessfully. He slumped to his worst ever ranking of 141 in the world – but he still won matches and had an impact on fellow players’ careers while receiving artificial and illegal stimulation.

Should Agassi repay prize money? Or compensate tournament sponsors?

However, it is equally likely the controversy will quickly die down. If that happens it would just be another step along the road to Apathy City – where we stop caring whether or not our sporting heroes are on the straight and narrow.

Although Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff and all-rounder Stuart Broad hogged many of the headlines following England's defeat of Australia which sealed and Ashes series win at the weekend, it's the captain of the home side Andrew Strauss deserves the plaudits.

Andrew Strauss rose to the challenge of becoming captain of his country to seal an Ashes win over Australia.

It's also a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for the man I interviewed in 2006 – then contemplating the fact he had been overlooked as skipper for the Ashes series in Australia. With Michael Vaughan injured, the selectors picked Flintoff instead.

Strauss spoke diplomatically about the decision but the disappointment was plain to see from his expressions.  Further indignity was to follow, as Flintoff and his teammates were hammered 5-0 in the series while Strauss's form with the bat suffered so much that he was dropped from the national side.

Forward the clock two years and cometh the hour cometh the man – Strauss was the only candidate for captain in 2009.

Together, with England's new coach Andrew Flower (how many Andy's does a cricket side need?), Strauss has quietly and confidently absorbed all the pressure that comes with leadership.

He has allowed teammates – some of whom failed as captain themselves – to concentrate on playing their best cricket.

At the same time, Strauss's batting has never been better. He has the ability to switch off from the captaincy while out in the middle and finished this Ashes series as the top run scorer and by hitting more boundaries than anyone else.

Strauss isn't controversial but he doesn't duck tough questions or issues – he was right to suggest the current Australian side has less of an aura than in previous years despite the furor it created.

The Ashes triumph was a great achievement but their could be more to come from a captain whose glowing reputation is still growing.

It almost went down as the year of the comeback but Michael Schumacher’s decision to cancel his return to Formula One means 2009 will now be remembered as the season of great sporting anti-climax.

Schumacher has been forced to call off his eagerly-awaited return to Formula One.

First, there was 37-year old Lance Armstrong returning to Tour de France action after a gap of four years. He gave race favorite Alberto Contador a huge scare before settling for third place overall – an astonishing performance but not the fairy tale many had hoped for.

Then, Tom Watson made us all feel young again by swinging his way to the top of the leaderboard in The Open championship. At 59 years of age, and with two replacement hips, he defied expectations until the final hole of the final round when time caught up with him. Second place was good but not great.

Now, Michael Schumacher has denied us the mouth watering sight of a motor racing legend taking on the best of the next generation.

Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton had never raced against Schumi and the German was a hero to countryman Sebastien Vettel and a host of other young drivers in the sport.

But they may never get the chance to pit themselves against F1’s most successful ever driver after the 40-year old said the neck he injured in a motorcycling accident won’t stand up to the rigors of a grand prix.

Pity Ferrari didn’t check Schumacher’s health before announcing his comeback, unleashing a storm of publicity and surge in ticket sales for the next race in Spain. Did the great man really want to turn back the clock, or simply wind us all up?

For those of us still hoping for a nostalgic twist to the European summer, our last remaining hope is Mark Ramprakash. Although he’ll be 40 next month, the Surrey batsman is in contention to play for England in the deciding test match of the current Ashes series.

One last chance for a veteran triumph instead of a geriatric damp squib.

The flaws of the England cricket team in Cardiff were obvious and too long to list on the short space provided here; but even Australia showed signs of weakness during the first Ashes Test.

Ponting ponders how victory escaped his side in the first Ashes Test against England in Cardiff.

Despite his impressive record as skipper, Aussie captain Ricky Ponting continues to attract criticism both at home and abroad. His nation's only Ashes series loss over the last two decades came under his stewardship, in 2005, and for many an indelible image of the defeat was how the Tasmanian lost his cool after being run out by a Pratt (surname of England's controversial stand-in fielder Gary).

There were echoes of that incident on the final day’s play in Cardiff when England’s 12th man, Bilal Shafayat, came on in successive overs in a thinly-veiled, time-wasting tactic to incur the ire of “Red-Mist Ricky."

It was hard not to be entertained watching the Australian captain’s face, a brief flicker of bemusement quickly changing to anger. He barked at the hapless Shafayat and complained to the umpires. No psychologist was needed to determine that on both occasions, in 2005 and 2009, the source of Ponting's frustration was not with his opponents, but came instead from within.

Four years ago, England’s consistent competitiveness surprised him. This time, he was frustrated by letting, what seemed a comprehensive victory, slip through his fingers. No doubt Australia’s captain misses the pace bowling of Glenn McGrath and creative spin of Shane Warne, but critics argue without the former greats to rely on Ponting proves tactically brittle. His current bowling attack showed some teeth in the first Test but the legendary bite of Warne and McGrath remains a big loss.

Nonetheless, when you compare the contribution of Ponting with Andrew Strauss, in Cardiff, Australia’s captain fared far better than England’s. Strauss’s batting looked solid but he failed to convert his form into a large total in either innings. He also looked helpless as Australia racked up the runs in their record-breaking first innings.

Tactically, Ponting may have his detractors but it’s impossible to argue that his individual score of 150 was anything other than a fantastic tone-setter for all of his batsmen. History is reserving judgment on Ponting the captain, for now, but Ponting the batsman is already one of the sport’s best ever.

ROME, Italy - CNN - There was a double defeat for Manchester United in the Eternal City. Not only did the players metaphorically fail to show up but their fans were literally out sung by Barcelona's noisy, colorful contingent of fans.

Barcelona fans proudly display their club colors in Rome.

One of the great myths of British football was shattered. English fans do not always travel in greater numbers and chant louder than supporters following other sides in Europe. The red and blue kit of Barcelona was the color of the day around Rome on Wednesday and many Manchester United supporters told me they were surprised to be seemingly in the minority.

It is impossible to collect exact figures but reports that Barca returned 7000 tickets from their official allocation seem hard to believe judging from the view inside the Stadio Olimpico.

English fans pride themselves on their witty (and, lets be honest, plain rude) songs but you can not fail to be impressed by the communal "technique" of Barcelona's support – scarves are twirled in unison above heads, producing a vast, rapidly moving, wall of color. And because they favor shrill whistling to singing or shouting they are louder than many of their rivals.

In fairness to the United faithful, their team did not offer a great deal to cheer about come the time of asking.

The English did claim victory on one front, though. While Barcelona fans wandered around Rome bemoaning the lack of beer, United's cunning supporters defied the alcohol ban and, with the help of some compliant bar owners, became champion drinkers for the day – even if their team gave away their Champions of Europe crown at the end of it.

MANCHESTER,  England - Old Trafford has never cheered a goalless draw so loudly as Manchester United’s match with Arsenal.

I was waiting outside the stadium to talk to fans and film the celebrations –- but the noise was so great that I had to check the match really had finished nil-nil.

The Manchester United Saturday team celebrate their third successive Premier League title.

It sounded like Manchester United had scored but 70,000 supporters were simply acclaiming the final whistle. They knew a draw with the London club was enough to clinch the Premier League title for the third year in succession.

I had to wait another 20 minutes before more than a handful of disgruntled Arsenal fans came out. United's followers were still inside, milking the trophy presentation. And why not? Of manager Alex Ferguson's 11 Premier League triumphs, this was only the second to be sealed at the stadium known as “The Theatre of Dreams.”

And never has Old Trafford's nickname seemed less appropriate. Title glory isn't a "dream" anymore. It comes around with more frequency than the local bus service.

Making the elusive process of winning major football trophies so mundane is an astonishing achievement by Ferguson, who is now the most successful manager in British football history.

Before the Arsenal game he played down the fact that United would likely equal Liverpool's record of 18 English championships. But many suspect that Ferguson does care about putting the club's local rivals in their place. And it’s the first thing the fans mentioned as I filmed their reaction when they finally streamed out of the ground.

But United's jubilant followers were also concerned. Striker Carlos Tevez seemed to wave goodbye as he was substituted during the match and many took note of how isolated he looked as the trophy was paraded around the pitch. The fans are convinced the Argentine will leave in the summer - and a lot of them would rather he stayed than Cristiano Ronaldo.

There is still a chance that both Tevez and Ronaldo will go. While that may give United's challengers hope for next season, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal know Ferguson has proved adept at replacing key players – think of Paul McGrath, Bryan Robson, Paul Ince, Eric Cantona, Jaap Stam, Peter Schmeichel, David Beckham and Roy Keane.

Ferguson is already looking ahead to new challenges and new records. If United beat Barcelona in Rome a week on Wednesday, they will be the first team to defend their Champions League title since the European Cup was renamed. Ferguson will also match Liverpool’s Bob Paisley as the most successful manager in the competition's history. And United will move within one of Liverpool's mark of five European Cups.

There’s still plenty of legend building left for Ferguson and Manchester United – one man and his club.