The Football Association of Ireland appealed to the world governing body to let them in as the 33rd team after Thierry Henry's handball helped France edge their qualifying play-off last month.

"We have to be clear that Ireland will not be invited to play at the 2010 World Cup," said Valcke at a news conference today.

"It's impossible. There is no hope that there will be more than 32 teams at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa."

FIFA's executive committee are holding an emergency meeting tomorrow in Cape Town where the matter will be discussed but Valcke's comments have dashed any faint hopes the Irish may have been harbouring.

Meanwhile, Liam Brady has branded FIFA president Sepp Blatter a "loose cannon" over his handling of their audacious appeal.

"He (Blatter) is a bit of a loose cannon," said Brady. "He's an embarrassment to FIFA.

"We asked that to see what FIFA's reaction was going to be. I think when we asked for that we knew there was very little chance of that happening.

"We asked because we wanted to have them respond in a measured way, and see what they had to say.

"After all Mr Blatter was responsible for the (match) official. He didn't say anything about the appalling mistake the official made to miss a blatant handball."

Brady said the FAI had expected FIFA to consider the '33rd team' request in private. And the former Republic midfielder was shocked when Blatter told a news conference the FAI's appeal had been lodged with FIFA.

"I'm afraid Mr Blatter is a law unto himself," Brady said. "I thought it was very disrespectful how he presented this fact.

"He's currently ignored most of the controversial things that went on that evening. He never had anything to say about that at all, like Henry's behaviour after scoring the goal and how that stands within his campaign to have fair play within the game.

"Henry celebrates as if he's done nothing wrong. Is that fair play? Hardly.

"But Mr Blatter chose to talk about the request to be considered as the 33rd team."

Blatter had set the tone for tomorrow's meeting by saying they would "also have to bring in Costa Rica" - who were denied a place in South Africa by an offside goal scored by Uruguay in their play-off.

Adding additional teams would also throw Friday's finals draw into complete chaos as it would affect the whole structure of the tournament.

FIFA are expected to approve Michel Platini's plan of having five referees - an extra official behind each goal-line - at each match of next summer's finals in response to the play-off controversy, a system being trialled in this season's Europa League.

The proposal would then go to the International Football Association Board (IFAB) - the game's rule-making body - for a vote but it would almost certainly be passed.

One FIFA executive committee member told Press Association Sport: "The mood is that something has to be done and the easiest solution is to bring in the extra assistant referees."

The IFAB is made up of the four home associations, who each have a vote, and FIFA, who have four votes. Any proposal needs six out of eight votes to be carried.

Scottish FA chief executive Gordon Smith has already revealed to Press Association Sport he would look kindly on the five-referees plan, and England are also nailed on to back FIFA and UEFA because they will not want to upset them in the year of their bid for the 2018 World Cup.

There have been suggestions that Henry may face disciplinary action from the executive committee for his handball in the build-up to William Gallas' decisive goal. That cannot be ruled out but there is no precedent for such an action.

Former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier does not believe the player will be punished.

"Thierry is too honest a person to have done this immorally. It was not premeditated," Houllier said on BBC Radio Five Live.

"I don't think he'll be punished and, even if the goal had not been allowed, they (Ireland) would not have qualified. It would have gone to penalties."