England vs France referee was ‘punishment’ for Three Lions

Penalty heartbreak as Harry Kane's miss sends England out

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England were knocked out of the World Cup by France in the quarter-finals earlier this month, with referee Wilton Sampaio coming under fire for his performance. And Netherlands hero Ruud Gullit has reportedly raised a FIFA suspicion by suggesting the Brazilian was appointed to oversee the showdown as a punishment for England’s “moaning.”

France defeated the Three Lions 2-1 at the Al Bayt Stadium to book their place in the semi-finals. Les Bleus’ opening goal came after Bukayo Saka had been fouled in the France half. But Sampaio allowed play to continue as Aurelien Tchouameni eventually lashed the ball in from 25 yards.

Sampaio appeared to miss a whole host of fouls from the France player and waved play on after Harry Kane had been tripped in the box at one stage. The referee did award Gareth Southgate’s side two penalties during the showdown, but the second one came after VAR intervention, despite an obvious foul by Theo Hernandez on Mason Mount.

And Daily Mail journalist Martin Samuel has explained an exchange he had with Gullit, where the Dutchman bemoaned the English for their attitude.

“Hurrying away from Lusail Stadium after Argentina’s win over Croatia, I bumped into Ruud Gullit,” Samuel wrote in his column. “He had a big smile. ‘What do you think of the tournament, eh, Martin?’ he asked.

“I remembered that on the way home from Moscow in 2018, we’d had a lively discussion about Qatar. It’s fair to say he was an advocate, and I wasn’t.

“So I said what I thought. That the football had been great. But then tournament football usually is. I hadn’t changed my mind on the location. It was a largely efficient World Cup also, but it came at too high a price.

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“He seemed disappointed. ‘You guys, you’re always moaning, you never learn,’ he said. ‘That’s why you end up with a referee from South America.’

“And he meant it as a joke, but really? That’s the deal? England get Wilton Sampaio because its media reports on migrant worker deaths. I can’t believe that, not even of FIFA – but if it’s even a quarter true, it’s worse than we thought.”

Broadcaster Richard Keys, however, appeared to agree with Gullit, who spent three years playing for Chelsea in the Premier League in the 1990s before going on to manage Newcastle. “This was a joke,” he tweeted in reply to the article. “I was with Ruud two minutes after he’d seen Sammy (Martin Samuel). But it does make you wonder. I’ve spoken of English arrogance for years. Drop the daft song and stop lecturing the world. It might help.”

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