FIFA have given referee Wilton Sampaio a vote of confidence by including him in a small group of officials to remain in Qatar until the end of the World Cup, despite his heavily-criticised performance during France’s win over England on Saturday. Former Manchester United star Gary Neville was among those to lay into Sampaio, labelling him ‘a joke’, but the Brazilian could yet officiate in the latter stages of the tournament.
English complaints began in the first half when Dayot Upamecano’s trip on Harry Kane went unpunished, despite replays suggesting that it was a clear foul on the edge of the box. Three Lions supporters were similarly perplexed after the break when Mason Mount was barged over by Theo Hernandez in the box, only for play to be waved on.
Sampaio was later told to reassess his decision at the pitchside monitor before awarding England a penalty, which Kane fired over the crossbar. In what turned out to be an agonising 2-1 defeat for Gareth Southgate’s side, many felt as though infringements were missed in the build-up to both France goals, including a foul on Bukayo Saka and an Antoine Griezmann handball.
Despite the questionable performance, Sampaio has been kept on by FIFA and he is in the running to take charge of the remaining games in Qatar. Premier League official Anthony Taylor is also in contention, while Michael Oliver has been sent home.
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England centre-back Harry Maguire was similarly cutting when asked to assess Sampaio’s performance after the game, criticising the official to a level not often seen by players or managers. “Really poor, very poor,” he complained. “From minute one, five or six fouls in the first 15 minutes and not one yellow card. For me it’s a foul on Bukayo in the build-up to the first goal.
“I can’t really go into explaining how bad his performance really was. I don’t want to go into too much detail because I’ll end up getting fined. But even though the big decisions were wrong, he never gave us anything. Throughout the game he was really poor.”
England went toe-to-toe with France for a spot in the last four of the 2022 World Cup but fell behind in the first half when Aurelien Tchouameni’s powerful strike nestled into the bottom corner. Southgate’s side eventually pulled one back in the second half when Kane converted from the spot.
Despite the Three Lions looking more likely to win the game, Olivier Giroud’s header gave Les Bleus a precious lead. Sampaio’s late penalty U-turn gave Kane a golden opportunity to take the game to extra time but his shot flew over the bar and France held on to seal the win.
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