Hard criticism after England-Out
“A nightmare, a joke from a referee!”
In the quarter-finals of the World Cup, England lost out to France despite a good performance. For TV expert Gary Neville, one of the scapegoats is clearly the referee. Wilton Sampaio caught a “nightmare game”.
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Referee Wilton Sampaio is in the crossfire of criticism after the quarter-final between England and France.
Stefan MeierHead of Desk Sports
Gary Neville speaks out clearly after England’s 2-1 defeat by France. The England legend, with 85 caps, takes on referee Wilton Sampaio as a TV pundit at ITV.
“The referee had a nightmare game, an absolute joke from a referee,” says Neville of the Brazilian. “I’m not saying he was to blame for England’s defeat because that would be an excuse. He was just a bad referee, very bad.”
Two scenes in particular caused a stir. In the 18th minute, France defender Dayot Upamecano put down the lively Bukayo Saka. But the whistle of 40-year-old Sampaio remained silent, the quick counterattack led to Aurélien Tchouaméni’s goal to make it 1-0.
“I would have liked the referee to blow the whistle immediately and give Saka a foul,” commented Germany’s ex-national player Per Mertesacker on ZDF, seeing it as a clear foul.
“British deprived of two good situations”
Davide Calla also takes the same line in the SRF studio: “For me it’s a foul,” says the ex-professional. However, it was not a clear wrong decision, which is probably why the VAR did not intervene. But Calla notes: “The referee let a lot go, rather to the detriment of the English.”
There was also a great outcry when Harry Kane fell on the edge of the penalty area – even if the striker was outside the edge of the penalty area and a penalty would therefore have been unjustified. “Only once could a decision be made in our favor,” tweeted England legend Gary Lineker.
And Mertesacker drew the conclusion: “In twenty minutes, the English were really robbed in two good situations and that’s how the goal came about.”
Balancing on the foot: Kane miserably hits the penalty over the bar(00:29)
