FORMER Man United ace Patrice Evra has admitted it was “karma” that France had a disaster World Cup in 2010.
Furious Irish fans felt cheated after Thierry Henry’s infamous handball as he set up a goal to help them rob Ireland of a finals place.
And Patrice, 40, admitted Les Bleus got what they deserved after bombing out bottom of their group and failing to win any games in South Africa.
He confessed: “Maybe there was karma because the World Cup was so bad for us. Maybe it would have been better if Ireland had gone there instead.
“South Africa was terrible for us . . . all of us — the players, the coach [Raymond] Domenech.
“An argument in the dressing room got out of hand and went crazy. None of us realised the impact those pictures of us on the bus refusing to train would have.
“We were in a bubble, laughing and joking as we got back to the hotel. We believed we’d made our point about Nicolas Anelka being sent home and that we could just carry on. But no, it was a disaster.
“We didn’t have a real coach. I know that sounds harsh, but there were just too many egos and too much talent to manage.
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“If Didier Deschamps had been in charge then, I’m sure it would have been a different story.”
Patrice told FourFourTwo that he didn’t see Thierry’s balls-up in their controversial 2-1 win over Ireland, but still believes his pal was treated too harshly over it back in France.
He said: “Many people ask me about that game now. First of all, I didn’t see that it was a handball during the game.
“When I saw that nobody was celebrating in the dressing room despite us winning and going to the World Cup, I saw that something was wrong, and then that it was a handball. But would an Irish player have gone to see the referee if he’d done that? I doubt it.
‘STILL NOT PROUD’
“I was really disappointed with the way the French media destroyed Thierry, and I stuck up for him.
“If he’d said, ‘I handled the ball’ and France didn’t go to the World Cup, the country would have brought back the guillotine.”
Earlier this year, ex-Arsenal star Thierry admitted he is “still not proud” of the goal and said he got a bodyguard to protect his daughter after death threats were made.
Thierry, 44, said: “Am I proud of it? No. Do I get abused by the Irish fans sometimes? Yes, I do.”
