Zinedine Zidane, Patrice Evra and Gary Neville came out in defence of Henry, who has been vilified for his handball that helped France to beat Ireland and secure their place at South Africa 2010.
Henry has been hit with a global deluge of criticism after his handball gave William Gallas the chance to score the goal that took the 1998 champions through to the World Cup in South Africa.
Manchester United's French international defender Evra insisted that Henry did not deserve to be slated.
"Titi [Henry] does not deserve this. Leave him in peace. Who made the mistake? The referee," Evra told L'Equipe sports daily.
Describing the clear handball as "an instinctive gesture", Evra said that Henry would have been vilified even more in his homeland had he gone to the referee and said the goal should be disallowed.
"Frankly, had he done that, I would have told to him, Titi, you betrayed us'," said Evra.
World Cup winner Zidane said his former France team-mate "is not a cheat", but that he had "made a big on-field error".
"I've known him for 10 or 12 years and I know that he's not a cheat.
"He made a poor decision. Everybody makes mistakes."
Manchester United defender Neville said it was wrong to brand Henry a cheat, because "everyone who has played football will know that when the ball comes up at your side, your arm can come out instinctively".
Neville, in his column in the Malta Sunday Times, said: "We have all done things in football matches in the heat of the moment that we have regretted later. The referee has to spot these things."
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