Gary Neville, Sky Sports pundit has attacked FIFA referee Wilton Sampaio following England’s defeat to France in the FIFA World Cup.
As England was eliminated from the World Cup after losing to France, Gary Neville criticized referee Wilton Sampaio for his handling of the match.
Throughout England’s quarterfinal loss, Sampaio made several contentious choices that drew criticism from supporters online.
Some of the decisions that went against England during the game confused the crowd, and Gary Neville criticized referee Wilton Sampaio after England’s disappointing loss.
Speaking on ITV following the game, Neville couldn’t hide his frustration with the referee’s performance. ‘The referee I thought he had an absolute nightmare, he was a joke of a referee.’ Neville said.
‘I am not saying he was at fault for England’s defeat. People will say it’s excused, but he was just a bad referee.’
Later in the first half, when Harry Kane was hauled down on the edge of the penalty box following a clumsy challenge from Dayot Upamecano, the 40-year-old would find himself at the center of controversy once more.
After losing 2-1 to France in the World Cup quarterfinals, England is now out of the competition along with Portugal, the Netherlands, and Brazil.
In the game’s closing moments, Harry Kane tied Wayne Rooney’s Three Lions’ scoring record of 53 goals, but he missed a critical penalty that would have forced a second tying goal.
Before Kane’s early second-half penalty, France had taken the lead through Aurelien Tchouameni in the 17th minute. The first-half goal by Les Bleus appeared to be the result of a foul on Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka, but VAR determined that the goal stood.
Kane restored parity from the penalty spot before Olivier Giroud beat Jordan Pickford with a strong header for the winning goal. After a game full of the contentious referee and VAR decisions, the England players were distraught and dejected when the final whistle blew.
The Three Lions fought back and displayed amazing character to claw their way back into the game, and when Kane hammered his penalty home, they succeeded in doing so.
With just 15 minutes remaining, Olivier Giroud gave France the lead once more, but England was never truly out of this thrilling knockout match.
When Hernandez collided with Mount, they had another opportunity to equalize the score, but Kane fluffed his lines and sent the ball over the bar this time.
After the miss, the England captain struggled to control his emotions as Kieran Trippier and Jordan Pickford pulled the cameras away at the end of the game.
However, despite recent uncertainties around his future, pundits Ian Wright and Gary Neville are leading the appeals for Gareth Southgate to remain as England’s manager.
At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Southgate led the Three Lions to the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup, the final of Euro 2020, and now has led them to the quarterfinals where they were eliminated by a 2-1 loss to the defending champions France.
Wright and Neville, both ex-England players, quickly stated their desire for Southgate to continue as manager after turning around the country’s fortunes.
