Republic of Ireland Right to Feel Bitter with FIFA

Republic of Ireland striker Robbie Keane is right to feel bitter after his country were controversially bundled out of the World Cup on Wednesday night.

Keane was left fuming after France striker Thierry Henry clearly handled the ball before squaring it across goal for William Gallas to net the winner after Republic of Ireland skipper Keane had levelled the aggregate score in the play-off second leg in Paris.

And Keane claims FIFA president Sepp Blatter and his UEFA counterpart Michel Platini got the result they wanted.

He told BBC Radio Five Live: "They're all probably clapping hands, Platini sitting up there on the phone to Sepp Blatter, probably texting each other, delighted with the result."

But the real sore point was the decision of FIFA to seed the eight teams in the play-offs.

Teams had already been seeded in qualifying and the play-offs were believed to be in an open-draw format, however a late change of heart by FIFA meant that France, Portugal, Russia and Greece all became seeded.

Keane added: "Germany had a chance of being in the play-offs as well. With two massive countries, there's no way in a million years there is going to be a fair draw."

It meant that Ireland could only be drawn against one of Europe's big guns and ultimately the draw allowed France, Portugal and Greece to go with the World Cup betting odds and progress to South Africa.

It was almost the perfect outcome for FIFA chief Sepp Blatter, who has been accused of making sure the bigger teams reach the 2010 finals to secure maximum revenue, with only Russia missing out after their defeat to Slovenia.

FIFA should be embarrassed. To alter the rules midway through a qualifying competition is wrong and that should be Ireland's real gripe.

In other sports news, the odds for the Aintree Grand National are heating up, so it could be worth your while to keep a check on these.