LYON, France _ Prudent planning or cheeky subterfuge?
Depends on who you ask.
The U.S. team on Sunday sent two staffers to check out the hotel where England's team is staying in Lyon, with the idea of moving the Americans there if they win the Women's World Cup semifinal matchup on Tuesday and advance to next Sunday's final.
U.S. coach Jill Ellis said the visit was "planning, preparation for our staff." But England coach Phil Neville thought it improper of the Americans to tread on his turf, even though his team was training at the time.
"It's not something that we'd do, send somebody around to another team's hotel," he said. "But it's their problem. I'm sure that Jill probably wasn't too happy with that arrangement. I wouldn't have been if that was my team ops person going 'round."
He also said the Americans would gain no advantage on the game from the visit.
"It has no bearings on the game," he said. "I actually found it quite funny. I just thought, 'What are they doing?' It's not etiquette, really, is it? I just think that that's not something that I would allow from our organization."
Ellis said the two U.S. representatives weren't being rude and were merely ensuring that the hotel would be adequate to accommodate the U.S. team.
"In terms of arrogance, that stuff has nothing to do with us," she said. "That's planning, preparation for our staff. I think that's pretty normal."
Neville has some cheekiness in his own personality. During a news conference after his team's 3-0 quarterfinal victory over Norway, he said he waved after each goal to the scouts from France and the U.S. who were sitting behind England's bench.
