Brazil legend Pele has had his say on the controversy surrounding Thierry Henry's handball incident against the Republic of Ireland by insisting that the 'Hand of Henry' was merely an 'accident'.

'The King' gave his verdict on the incident at a press conference in Dublin on Wednesday and also publicly expressed his sympathy for the Boys in Green after their elimination in the World Cup play-off.

With his side trailing 1-0 in extra-time courtesy of Robbie Keane's first-half strike, France captain Thierry Henry seized on a Florent Malouda free-kick, handling the ball twice, before crossing for William Gallas to head home the equaliser.

The goal gave Raymond Domenech's men a 2-1 aggregate win and thus sealed their place in next summer's football showpiece in South Africa.

Henry has since come in for a tremendous amount of condemnation from all angles, however, Pele insists that the Barcelona striker's handball was an unintentional.

"I think he [Henry] did it accidentally," he told the press conference.

"I don't think he thought he was going to put the hand on the ball to cross the ball. Unfortunately, this happens.

"Maybe the linesman could help, but even the linesman didn't see.

"We say fair play, but I don't think it was unfair because this is something that goes in one second, you know," he added.

The 69 year-old three-time World Cup winner also extended his sympathy to Giovanni Trapattoni's men, stressing that the result was anything but just.

"The result was unfair. Unfortunately you cannot change that," he said.

"But the result was unfair no doubt. But the mistake that happened, well, anybody can make a mistake."