Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Soccer’s governing body will hold an emergency meeting next month as the sport struggles with questions over gambling, officiating and crowd security within a year of the World Cup.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter called the meeting in response to refereeing that allowed a handball that helped send France to the World Cup last week and the arrest of suspects in Europe’s largest match-fixing investigation. There were also riots before and after a qualifying game between Algeria and Egypt.

“Due to recent events in the world of football, namely incidents at the playoffs for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa, match control (refereeing) and irregularities in the football betting market, the FIFA president has called an extraordinary meeting of the executive committee,” FIFA said in a statement yesterday.

The 24-member body will meet in Cape Town on Dec. 2, a day before a scheduled meeting. A FIFA spokesman was unable to say when the last emergency meeting took place.

The governing body faced a barrage of demands for a replay of the Nov. 18 World Cup playoff between France and Ireland, after video replays showed Thierry Henry twice used his hand to control the ball before setting up William Gallas to score the decisive goal that gave France a 2-1 victory over two matches. FIFA’s rules state a referee’s decision is final.

Officials at the Football Association of Ireland offered support yesterday.

“Should we be asked to make any contribution, the FAI would be happy to do so for the improvement of the game,” the Dublin-based association said.

Europe-Wide Probe

On Nov. 20, prosecutors and police in Germany announced the arrest of 17 people in a match-fixing probe that involved as many as nine European leagues and also included qualifying games for the continent’s elite Champions League. Italian police made nine arrests yesterday following suspected match-rigging there.

FIFA also opened an inquiry into the Nov. 14 World Cup qualifier between Egypt and Algeria in Cairo. Three Algerian players and a team official were injured when their team bus was targeted by stone-throwing youths a day before the match. Egypt won 2-0 to force a playoff in Sudan, which Algeria won 1-0 to seal one of the last places at the 32-nation event.

French newspaper L’Equipe cited Henry as saying he was close to quitting the national squad following the match against the Irish in Paris.

“Oh yes,” France captain Henry told the sports daily. “When it all went too far, I was very worked up.”

Investigators say they suspect 200 people are involved in the gambling ring. The arrests come following raids in the U.K., Switzerland and Germany. Police said betting companies may have been defrauded out of as much as 10 million euros ($15 million).

“But this is just the tip of the iceberg,” investigating prosecutor Andreas Bachmann said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Tariq Panja in London at tpanja@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 23, 2009 18:14 EST