Paris, Nov.19 A furious Ireland has branded French striker Thierry Henry a cheat, after an apparent 'Hand of God' touch sent France to the World Cup.

The Arsenal legend did a Maradona twice, using his hand to set up William Gallas' extra-time clincher, reports The Sun.

Henry admitted: "The ball hit my hand and, I will be honest, it was a handball. I played it, the ref allowed it. It would have been better to do it another way, but I am not the ref."

Irish defender Richard Dunne said: "I think it is quite blatant that he did. It's not even a hard decision."

Striker Kevin Doyle raged: "It is sickening. I am sure Henry did not expect to get away with it because it was so obvious. The linesman had the best view, apart from Shay Given. It is difficult. We are all gutted. You do not blame the player if he can get away with it. It's nearly a natural reaction."

Centre-back Sean St Ledger rapped: "We feel cheated. It has cost a lot of us our dreams. As a boy, I used to dream of playing in the World Cup finals and now I will not."

The goal echoed Diego Maradona's infamous 'Hand of God' goal for Argentina against England at the 1986 World Cup. (ANI)