Harry Maguire has condemned the referee’s performance following England’s 2-1 defeat to France in last night’s Qatar 2022 World Cup quarter-final clash.
Aurelien Tchouameni and Olivier Giroud scored for the defending champions while Harry Kane converted one penalty and missed another late in the game that would have tied the score.
Manchester United defender Maguire was unhappy with the Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio for allowing incessant fouls, especially the one against Bukayo Saka that was not called as France went on to score the opening goal.
Maguire and his teammates also felt they deserved a third penalty kick for a foul on Kane.
“I thought the referee’s decision-making throughout the game was really poor,” Maguire told BeIN Sports last night.
“I can’t really go into explaining how bad [the referee’s] performance was.
“We always stand here, we as players, we get criticised, so it would be nice to see if he comes out and says whether he’s had a good game or not.
“There were so many decisions in that first half where France made five, six early fouls. I think [Kane] was outside the box but it was a clear foul.
“He doesn’t initially give the penalty in the second half. The one on Bukayo is a clear foul, leading up to their first goal. Just big moments, big decisions, and you expect a referee to get some right. Unfortunately tonight, he didn’t get any.”
Several English pundits, including ex-internationals Gary Neville and Gary Lineker, also felt the referee had a poor game.
