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Thierry Henry cheated, plain and simple. There can be no debate about that.

Henry should be blamed - not the referee who didn't make the call, as some have suggested - for what happened last week because but for the Frenchman's deliberate handball, Ireland could be going to next year's World Cup.

And the public moral outrage over Henry's act of deception is not only warranted and valid, but completely understandable - everyone enjoys rooting for the underdog, to see David slay Goliath.

But the sheer volume of the indignation is worrisome, and more than a little hypocritical, as it is being fuelled by an Anglo-Saxon bias that has plagued the game for some time now.

Everyone cheats - not just the French

The overall tone of the press coverage and the public dialogue about the events in Saint-Denis has tapped into the rich vein of national stereotypes - in this case, the Irish have been depicted as plucky, hard-working tradesmen who were duped by the slick, snake-oil salesmen from France.

The way everyone is carrying on, you'd think the French are the only ones who have ever cheated in order to win a soccer game.

Well, here's a newsflash for you: diving, cheating, conning the referee, feigning injury and other acts of skulduggery are committed by players of all nationalities.

No one country or group of countries have a monopoly on morality and proper soccer ethics, and it is the height of arrogance to suggest otherwise.

This is not the first time the French have been portrayed in such an unflattering light. Their unfair reputation has preceded them for some time now. Portugal, Spain and Italy have also been painted with similarly broad and offensive brushstrokes.

Even today, in this supposed era of enlightenment, we are subject to the same old, tired cliches that have been trotted out for generations - about Portuguese players being divers, Spaniards being deceitful buggers, Italians always feigning injury, and the French going to ground too easily.

So, it begs the question: why are France and its Euro-Latin brethren viewed as cheats, and their strengths on the field generally overlooked?

Unfairly portrayed as cheats

For some reason, the four aforementioned nations are generally viewed as being less than full of the Corinthian sprit, compared to their British counterparts who supposedly have a patent on fair play.

Indeed, a nauseating and offensive pretence has been accepted as fact, where the idea of playing within the rules is seen as quintessentially an Anglo-Saxon trait - that it is British teams who virtuously soldier on alone, trying to succeed in a cut-throat soccer world against their Machiavellian competitors who would think nothing of selling out their own mothers for two bits just to win a game.

Hence the comical portrayal of France as some sort of top hat wearing, moustache-twirling villain from the silent movie era.

Is the outrage over the Ireland affair just? Of course it is.

But one can't help but wonder why there wasn't similar fury when Spain, Italy and Portugal suffered at the hands of the officials at the 2002 World Cup?

You'll recall that in its second-round encounter against host South Korea, the Italians not only unjustly had key playmaker Francesco Totti sent off in extra time, but it also had a goal negated on a controversial offside call.

What about Spain, who had three goals - three goals! - called back over the course of their quarter-final encounter against the Koreans, including one in extra time that was legitimate? What about Portugal, who was denied a clear penalty decision against South Korea in the group stage?

Where was the outrage in 2002?

Did anyway shed a tear for Italy, Spain or Portugal after their eliminations? Did anyone cry foul then? Did the British press congregate with pitchforks in hand and storm the palace gates like they did after the Irish were screwed over in Saint-Denis?

Hardly.

In all three cases, there was merely a shrug of the shoulders from the Anglo-Saxon soccer world, as if to say, "those cheating bastards finally got their comeuppance."