FIFA made a payment to the Football Association of Ireland after Thierry Henry's handball stopped Ireland qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, FAI chief executive John Delaney revealed on Thursday.

"We felt we had a legal case against FIFA because of how the World Cup play-off hadn't worked out for us with the Henry handball," Delaney told Ireland's RTE Radio 1.

"We came to an agreement. That was a Thursday and on Monday, the agreement was all signed and all done. It's a very good agreement for the FAI and a very legitimate agreement for the FAI."

The payment is reported to have been worth five million euros ($5.63 million), but when that figure was put to Delaney, he refused to confirm or deny it, saying he was "bound by confidentiality".

France qualified for the 2010 World Cup at Ireland's expense after Henry blatantly handled the ball as he set up William Gallas for the decisive goal in a play-off match in Paris in November 2009.

Henry was derided as a cheat in the aftermath of the match, which saw France win 2-1 on aggregate, while the FAI and the Irish government unsuccessfully petitioned world governing body FIFA for the game to be replayed.

Delaney's claim comes amid a corruption scandal engulfing FIFA that has seen president Sepp Blatter announce his resignation and former executive committee member Chuck Blazer admit to paying bribes.