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France-England: When Referee Sampaio Angered Everyone in Qatar

Four days before the third-place playoff between the two nations, a look back at the 2022 World Cup quarter-final in Qatar, where Wilton Sampaio's refereeing sparked criticism from both sides.

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France-England: When Referee Sampaio Angered Everyone in Qatar
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Before meeting on Saturday for the third-place playoff, France and England had already clashed in Qatar in December 2022, in the World Cup quarter-finals. A victory for the Blues (2-1) that left its mark, and not only in the English camp.

On the Three Lions’ side, grievances against Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio poured in immediately after the final whistle. Harry Maguire opened fire in a press conference: “Big decisions went against us — many decisions, I should say. I think the referee’s decision-making throughout the match was really poor.” Former international Gary Lineker echoed this on social media after a foul by Dayot Upamecano on Harry Kane at the edge of the French penalty area, while the English camp also pointed to a possible foul by the same Upamecano on Mason Mount seconds before Aurélien Tchouameni’s goal.

Gary Neville, consultant for ITV, did not mince words: “The referee was an absolute nightmare. It was a joke. I’m not saying he’s the reason for England’s defeat — people will say I’m making excuses — but he was simply a bad referee.”

What makes the controversy singular is that it had not spared the winning camp. Adrien Rabiot, despite qualifying for the semi-finals, also expressed his reservations: “I found the referee borderline,” he told the press.

Five years after this quarter-final that remained in people’s memories, the two teams meet again with, in the background, a refereeing dispute that neither the players nor observers have fully settled.

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