Valenciennes (France) (AFP) – England coach Phil Neville launched a scathing tirade at Cameroon after his team’s 3-0 win at the women’s World Cup on Sunday, saying he was “utterly ashamed” of the behaviour of the African side.
“I sat through the 90 minutes of football there and felt ashamed — proud of my own players’ behaviour under circumstances that I’ve never seen on a football field before, and completely and utterly ashamed of the behaviour of the opposition,” raged Neville at the end of the match in Valenciennes.
The England boss said that one of his players had been spat at while claiming the African team had even been involved in fights at their team hotel.
The Cameroon players appeared to threaten to walk off the field after the Chinese referee overturned her decision to disallow England’s second goal — scored by Ellen White — after consultation with the Video Assistant Referee.
She did not come across to review the footage herself, but replays on the big screen inside the Stade du Hainaut showed that her decision was correct.
The situation was repeated early in the second half when Cameroon scored, but this time the goal was disallowed after Qin Liang consulted the VAR.
Neville was also unhappy with a challenge late in the game on Steph Houghton which left the England captain needing treatment on an ankle injury. Cameroon’s Alexandra Takounda escaped with a yellow card following another VAR review.
“I can’t sit here now and just gloss over it, fudge it. I have got to tell the truth,” Neville added.
“That is how the players felt and I am so proud of their behaviour in such circumstances that I have never ever seen on a football field.
“It takes you back to the times when you were a kid, and you lost and you went home crying with your ball.”
The Cameroon coach Alain Djeumfa had earlier defended his players and laid the blame at the feet of the referee, but Neville suggested the behaviour on the field had followed fights in the VIP area of the stadium and at the hotel shared by both teams.
“I would say get your ship in order first before you start throwing stones. We handled ourselves with class and that makes me very proud,” added Neville, who also said that England forward Toni Duggan had been spat at on the field at one point.
from World Soccer Talk http://bit.ly/2WYqjrO
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