Yapback Podcast

🚨Thomas Tuchel on England’s World Cup semi-final defeat to Argentina. 🗣️ “I have to say it because everyone watched the same match. The referee and VAR completely lost control of this game. In a World Cup semi-final, mistakes like these are unacceptable. You work four years for moments like this, and then crucial decisions are handled with unbelievable incompetence.” “The challenge on Anderson? How is that not given? The offside decisions? The fouls ignored? VAR had every angle, every replay, every opportunity to correct obvious errors and they still failed. If technology cannot get the biggest decisions right on the biggest stage, then what exactly is it there for?” “I don’t want excuses because England also made mistakes, but don’t ask me to stay silent when my players are denied fair decisions. We are told to respect referees, yet who takes responsibility when they get it completely wrong? Nobody. They apologise after the tournament while our dream is already over.” “This is a World Cup semi-final, not a training match. The standards should be the highest in football, yet tonight they were nowhere near good enough. One bad decision can change history, and England were forced to play against both Argentina and a refereeing performance that simply wasn’t at the required level.” “Argentina are a fantastic team and they punished our mistakes, but I refuse to pretend the officiating had no impact. It did. The referee and VAR created controversy from the first whistle until the last, and that should embarrass everyone responsible.” “England leave with heartbreak. Not only because we failed to reach the final, but because every player will always wonder what might have happened if the biggest match of their lives had been officiated properly. That is impossible to accept.”