Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Oisin Doherty

Joe Brolly slams 'pathetic' Gary Lineker for 'whinging' after England's World Cup defeat to France

Joe Brolly has slammed Gary Lineker for 'whinging' about the referee after England's 2-1 defeat to France in the World Cup quarter-finals.

Goals from Aurélien Tchouaméni and Olivier Giroud either side of a Harry Kane penalty gave France the win. England captain Kane missed a second penalty late on as the Three Lions were sent packing.

Plenty of English fans were upset with the referee's performance last night and Gary Lineker was one of them. Taking to social media last night, he lamented two decisions that he felt should have gone England's way.

READ MORE: Roy Keane gets Cristiano Ronaldo World Cup prediction badly wrong

"One hundred percent foul on Saka. One hundred percent penalty on Kane," wrote Lineker.

Joe Brolly however has a much different opinion. In a Twitter post this morning, Brolly branded Lineker's moaning as 'pathetic,' and said that even if the fouls were given, England 'would've missed them anyway.'

The Saka 'foul' in question happened in the build-up to France's first goal. The Arsenal man was bundled over on the edge of the penalty box but the referee didn't award a foul. The French countered and Tchouaméni blasted home a scorcher from 25 yards.

The Kane one occurred in the first half when England were a goal down. The Spurs striker is definitely clipped by French defender Dayot Upamecano, although VAR ruled the foul to have taken place outside the box so no penalty was given.

Appearing on ITV, former referee Peter Walton said Kane went down to easily and that is why not even a foul was given.

Gareth Southgate's side had chances late on to snatch and equaliser, with both Harry Maguire and Marcus Rashford going close.

France held on in the end and booked their place in the semi-final at England's expense. They move one step closer to retaining the World Cup, while England's drought will be at 60 years when they head to the USA, Canada and Mexico in search of glory in 2026.

READ NEXT:

Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.