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Wilton Sampaio is the controversial referee who took charge of England’s defeat against France in the World Cup… the Brazilian was only a VAR in the last tournament, he had already received criticism in Qatar and made several mistakes in the defeat of the Three lions
Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio attracted attention for all the wrong reasons when England were knocked out of the World Cup with a 2-1 loss to France.
The 40-year-old came under heavy criticism during the match, particularly in the first half when he failed to give the Three Lions a penalty when Dayot Upamecano fouled Harry Kane.
There was also a controversial decision not to award Bukayo Saka a free kick after a foul by Upamecano in the build-up to Aurelien Tchouameni’s first goal.
Referee Wilton Sampaio made a series of glaring mistakes as England crashed out of the World Cup
Sampaio missed the penalty when Dayot Upamecano fouled Harry Kane in the first half
Sampaio has already come under fire for his decisions in Qatar, something that will be further highlighted after England’s 2-1 defeat by France.
Kane and his Three Lions teammates reacted well after falling behind to Aurelien Tchouameni’s long-range shot, responding by pinning the France defense and creating a series of openings.
During that brilliant period, the England captain picked up the ball down the right and got Upamecano’s side to score before being brought down by the Bayern Munich star.
There was a brief delay while Wilton Sampaio waited for VAR advice on whether he should go to the monitor to review his initial decision. However, soon after, the referee annulled the game to the bewilderment of fans in Qatar and at home.
It was just one of a series of in-game challenges that didn’t happen, including the one in the build-up to France’s opener.
The referee did not give England a series of decisions during the heartbreaking defeat
There were calls for a free kick after Saka was fouled in the build-up to France’s opener.
The 21-year-old received the ball on the edge and won the ball into the French penalty area, before Upamecano slipped past the young winger and forced him to shoot to the ground.
Subsequently, France countered England, attacking with pace and catching Gareth Southgate’s side off guard, with Aurelien Tchouameni firing a long-range shot past Jordan Pickford to break the tie.
Gary Neville said after the game: ‘The referee thought I had an absolute nightmare. He’s a joke of a referee, he.
“People will say it’s an excuse, but it was just bad.”
The referee awarded England two penalties during the game, the first when Saka was fouled clumsily by Tchouameni, which Kane converted.
England’s second penalty was after Theo Hernandez stormed the back of Mason Mount, a decision not originally given.
After being told by VAR to review the incident, Sampaio had no choice but to award the penalty.
Sampaio needed VAR to give England’s second penalty after Mason Mount was hit
Unfortunately for England, Kane dodged his penalty over the crossbar.
Sampaio had previously been criticized for awarding Saudi Arabia a controversial penalty kick against Poland early in the tournament.
He used the pitch monitor to penalize a tackle from Poland’s Krystian Bielik on Saudi striker Saleh Al-Shehri, despite minimal contact being shown on replays.
He was also criticized by pundits in Saudi Arabia for not giving Matty Cash a second yellow card after giving him an early yellow card in the 16th minute of the match, with Poland winning 2–0 en route to the round of 16.
It was heartbreaking for England when Kane missed his second penalty and England crashed out.
He is known as a tough disciplinarian who hands out yellow cards on every possible occasion, dishing out 105 yellow cards and four red cards in just 21 games in Brazil’s top league.
Before the match, as reported the Telegraph, Sampaio had refereed 381 games in his career, handing out 1,856 yellow cards and 102 red cards. He has also conceded 114 penalty kicks.
At the last World Cup in Russia, he was part of the refereeing team that helped introduce VAR to the tournament.
Their other two games in the 2022 tournament were wins for the Netherlands, against Senegal and the United States.