Thierry Henry has lamented the lack of support offered to him after the abuse he and his family received in the wake of his handball against Ireland in 2009.
The ex-France star set up WIlliam Gallas to score in the 2010 World Cup qualifier in Paris when Ireland led 1-0 and were heading for a penalty shooutout, but handled the ball twice in the build-up.
And speaking on an episode of Football Focus set to air today, Henry spoke about the incident, and the backlash, telling a group of fellow ex-players: "There's something, a reaction I had, that I didn't even think about. The ball passed the goalkeeper, he's on the line and he can't get the ball - your hand will come out.
"Your hand will come out because it's a reflex that you have. Your hand will come out. And my hand came out, I crossed the ball to Gallas, and the ball went in.
"We've been 'programmed' to play until the whistle blows. It was a bad, very bad reaction or reflex, however you want to call it. I didn't plan it."
It made him public enemy number one, not just in the eyes of Irish soccer fans, but the football community as a whole, and led to a number of fans hurling abuse his way for years after.
“For the first time it happened to me, being the 'bad guy' so my family started to be hurt. That's when I'm vulnerable.
"For the first time I'm like, well this is out of my hands, no pun intended.
"It's so hard when you can see that your people are hurt. There is nothing you can do about it, because I didn't plan that.
“Nobody offered any support. You are alone in this type of moment. Nobody phones you, nobody says ‘how are you?’ You deal with it alone. You deal with it alone. My only way is like ok, tomorrow's another day.”
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