I watched the Spain/France round of 16 World Cup encounter when i got home from work, albeit on fast forward as i already knew Spain had underachieved in yet another major tournament. Opening goal by David Villa was a straightforward penalty, equalized just before the half on a offside trap-busting run by elephant man Franck Ribery. Skip ahead to late in the second half, with Spanish coach Luis Aragones having gambled and brought on his full complement of subs, including the attack-minded Joaquin, Luis Garcia, and Marcos Senna, in a bid to win the game in regulation. Despite controlling the match, the Spaniards weren't really coming close to putting the ball in the net.

As the scene opens, we find France and Arsenal all-world striker Thierry Henry chasing a ball towards the Spanish goal, although Spain and Barcelona defender Carles Puyol has him beat to it. So what does Henry do? He runs straight into the back of Puyol, and falls over like he's been punched in the face, clutching his head. The ref blows the whistle and awards the Spaniard a yellow card, as Puyol looks on in disbelief. Replays show that although his arm raised slightly to shield Henry off the ball, his elbow came nowhere near the Frenchman's face, and the contact was clearly initiated by Henry. But despite that, the free kick goes to France, and Zinedine Zidane arcs a ball into the box that is met by Patrick Vieira and put in the net. 2-1 France, and Spain can't muster an equalizer in the seven minutes remaining, instead conceding the nail in the coffin on a counterattack by Zidane.

Something about this whole episode really rankles with me. I can't stand Arsenal, or France, but i always appreciated the skill of Thierry Henry. Once upon a time i even imagined him coming to Stamford Bridge. I also considered him a player who played the game the right way, free of referee deception or gamesmanship. But that's all out the window. Maybe he's smarting from Arsenal's Champions League defeat, oddly enough to Puyol and Barcelona. He seems to have evolved into a consummate whiner, having followed in his mentor Arsene Wenger's footsteps and learned to place blame anywhere but on himself.

It's not as if Spain did enough to win the match, clearly they fell short and continued their trend of underachievement. But France and Henry didn't do enough to win either, and can thank a hoodwinked ref for their good fortune. Way to go Henry. I hope you enjoy getting throttled by Brazil in a few days, and steamrollered by Chelsea, Manchester United, and Liverpool again next year. With any luck, Andriy Shevchenko can claim the title of best striker in the Premiership as well, and leave you second on all counts.