Joe Hart opens up on his infamous rant at the 2014 World Cup when he told a ballboy to ‘give me the f***ing ball’ during defeat by Italy – as he claims he was just ‘trying to do what was right at the time’
- Joe Hart has explained his infamous tirade against a ball boy at the 2014 World Cup
- Ex-England goalkeeper says he did what he thought was right at the time
- Listen to It all starts! Steve Clarke out? Has the Scotland manager taken them as far as he could?
Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart has explained his infamous tirade against a ball boy at the 2014 World Cup.
With England trailing 2-1 against Italy in their opening match of the tournament in Brazil, Hart was seen shouting ‘Give me the f***ing ball’ at a ball boy in the closing stages of the match.
The video went viral at the time and still appears frequently on social media.
Hart stated that he had become frustrated because the ballboys and ballgirls were taking too long to return the ball, adding that he was keen to get England back on the field quickly as they looked for an equalizer.
The incident took place moments after Italian Andrea Pirlo hit the crossbar with an incredible free kick.
Ex-England goalkeeper Joe Hart has explained his tirade against a ball boy at the 2014 World Cup
Hart had become frustrated because the ballboys and ballgirls were taking too long to return the ball
Speaking about the High performance podcastHart said: “So I just saw one of the craziest free kicks ever, deep in the jungle, in the Amazon rainforest against Italy, and the whole game the ball boys or ball girls were ball boy and ball girl. moment, the opportunity.
“And I was there to try to win a game and we’re up there 2-1. I think we’re in overtime and I needed the ball.
“I just got tired of waiting for the ball to come back in because I realized it wasn’t going to last long and that’s how I felt.”
Hart admitted his actions were ‘100 per cent wrong’ but added he really wanted England to turn the game around.
He said: ‘It’s 100 percent wrong. I shouldn’t be shouting at someone like that, ‘Give me the ball’, but I needed the ball because I wanted to get it in the game and continue trying to keep England in the World Cup.
‘That was just my desperate attempt to keep my country in the World Cup. Looking back, this happened a long time ago and it’s only recently that everyone seems to be shouting that in my face.
Hart admitted his actions were wrong, but says he tried to do what he felt was right at the time
‘But what can you do? It happened and I tried to do what was right at the time.”
England eventually lost the match 2-1. Claudio Marchisio had given Italy the lead before Daniel Sturridge’s equalizer. Mario Balotelli then scored what turned out to be the winner.
The Three Lions finished bottom of their group after a 2-1 defeat to Uruguay and a 0-0 draw against Costa Rica.
Hart, who recently retired from football, made 75 appearances for England between 2008 and 2017.