Fifa have refused the Football Association of Ireland's request for a replay of France's World Cup play-off win over the Republic of Ireland. The Republic were beaten 2-1 on aggregate after France won with a goal from William Gallas, after Thierry Henry handled the ball in the build up. A Fifa statement read: "The result will not be changed and cannot be replayed." And the French Football Federation (FFF) has no intention of proposing a replay, BBC sport has learned. With Fifa having rejected the Republic's plea, it was thought Ireland's only hope was if France themselves came forward and backed plans for a replay - but the FFF believes such a notion to be laughable, BBC Sport understands. The Fifa statement continued: "As is clearly mentioned in the laws of the game, during matches, decisions are taken by the referee and these decisions are final." A Fifa source had earlier said: "There is no way the game can be replayed. To do so would cause absolute chaos for football. If it was replayed, then every match in the future would also be subject to these calls for a replay any time a referee misses an incident. "You have to have a rule that says the referee's judgement is always right." The FAI's chief executive John Delaney had lodged a complaint with Fifa asking for the match to be replayed to preserve the game's "integrity". Fifa insisted its disciplinary code says referees' decisions "are final". And the situation took on a political dimension as the Irish and French prime ministers disagreed over the matter. Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen called on Fifa, football's world governing body, to order a replay, saying he would raise the issue with French President Nicolas Sarkozy at a Brussels summit. But France's Prime Minister Francois Fillon responded that the Irish government should not interfere in footballing decisions. And Republic manager Giovanni Trapattoni, speaking before Fifa's announcement, said he did not expect a replay. "When a referee decides a game has finished I know it is impossible to replay the game," said the Italian. "This situation has to give a chance to who is responsible to rethink. It can be repeated in the future and we have to stop it." Trapattoni's side lost the first leg in Dublin 1-0 but were leading 1-0 in Paris before Henry handled the ball and squared for Gallas to nod in a goal that sent France to the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa and left the Republic heartbroken. "The handball was recognised by the Fifa commissioner, the referee observer and the match officials, as well as by the player himself," read the FAI statement. "There is precedent for the invalidation of such results. In 2005, the bureau of the Fifa World Cup organising committee reached a decision to invalidate the result of a World Cup qualification match between Uzbekistan and Bahrain on the basis of a 'technical error by the referee of the match'. "The Football Association of Ireland is hoping that Fifa and its disciplinary committee will, on behalf of football fans worldwide, act in a similar fashion so that the standards of fair play and integrity can be protected." FAI chief executive John Delaney added that the organisation had also written to their French counterparts as he urged Fifa to back up their words over fair play with actions. "When you ask me is this clutching at straws, we have to do what we are doing," said Delaney. "We have to do it. It is up to the people who govern the game now, if they really believe in the principles of fair play then step forward. "Every time I go to congress it is all about fair play and fair play ambassadors but well done is better than well said. They're words, I'd like to see actions. "From the French FA point of view they need to look at themselves in this situation. "Henry is their captain and a wonderful footballer but does he want to be like Diego Maradona and his legacy to be this handball, this goal that got them to the World Cup in an unjust manner? "If we had qualified in this manner, I wouldn't be happy."