Qatar 2022: Why FIFA punished England with ‘bad referee’ against France – Gullit

Ruud Gullit has suggested that FIFA punished England with a ‘bad referee’ over their ‘moaning’ about the World Cup being hosted in Qatar.

Gullit believes that England’s complaint about FIFA’s decision resulted in abysmal South American referee Wilton Sampaio being put in charge of their quarter-final defeat to France.

The Three Lions were beaten by defending champions France in the quarter-finals.

Brazilian ref Sampaio was put in charge of the game and was slammed for his display, missing a host of clear fouls.

Writing in his column for the Daily Mail, journalist Martin Samuel said that he had curious exchange with Gullit last week when the Dutchman said this

“Hurrying away from Lusail Stadium after Argentina’s win over Croatia, I bumped into Ruud Gullit. He had a big smile. ‘What do you think of the tournament, eh, Martin?” he asked.

“He seemed disappointed. ‘You guys, you’re always moaning, you never learn,” he said. ‘That’s why you end up with a referee from South America.’”