Gillette stands by Henry despite handball
Gillette is standing by France striker Thierry Henry despite his handball that helped France gain a place at next year’s World Cup finals.
The Barcelona player has admitted handling the ball in the build up to the goal that led to France’s aggregate victory in Wednesday’s World Cup qualifying game against the Republic of Ireland.
Henry appears in global campaigns for Gillette alongside golfer Tiger Woods and Wimbledon champion Roger Federer.
A spokesman for Procter & Gamble, which owns the brand, says: “It’s not our place to comment on refereeing in a match but this is not going to affect our relationship with him.”
Henry also has sponsorship deals with Pepsi and Reebok. He has previously appeared in advertisements for Renault.
The handball incident, which Henry has admitted to, happened in the build up to the goal that led to France’s equaliser. France won the tie 2.1 on aggregate following the team’s earlier 1.0 win in Dublin.
Irish football’s governing body, the FIA, has called on FIFA for the match to be replayed, a demand which has so far been rejected.
