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France's Thierry Henry - Source: Reuters -
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Thierry Henry said a replay between France and Ireland would be the "fairest solution" to the controversy surrounding the World Cup playoff.
The striker handled the ball in the build-up to William Gallas's goal in Wednesday's 1-1 second-leg draw with Ireland in Paris, earning France a 2-1 aggregate win and sending them through to next year's finals in South Africa.
"Naturally I feel embarrassed at the way we won and feel extremely sorry for the Irish who definitely deserve to be in South Africa," Henry said in a statement issued on his behalf on Friday.
"Of course the fairest solution would be to replay the game but it is not in my control. There is little more I can do apart from admit the ball had contact with my hand leading up to our equalising goal and I feel very sorry for the Irish."
Earlier on Friday world soccer's governing body FIFA said it had rejected the Football Association of Ireland's appeal to replay the match.
"I am not a cheat and never have been," said Henry. "It was an instinctive reaction to a ball that was coming extremely fast in a crowded penalty area.
"I have never denied the ball was controlled with my hand. I told the Irish players, the referee and the media this after the game."
Pep Guardiola, Henry's coach at Barcelona, said it would be wise to start using video evidence for such make-or-break decisions.
"It's obvious it was handball and I believe it was instinctive," Guardiola told a news conference.
"In such exceptional situations it wouldn't be a bad thing to use the video to decide."
