England vs France referee was "confused in his mind", says expert who knows him well

England vs France might be a new low for Three Lions fans at major tournaments. Sure, Frank Lampard had a perfectly good goal disallowed in 2010 and David Beckham's red card in 1998 was harsh – but what's the excuse when there's VAR?

Wilton Sampaio's performance was mired in controversy, as the Brazilian official refused to rule out France's opening goal after a blatant foul on Bukayo Saka in the build-up, before failing to give a penalty on Harry Kane in the first half that would have drawn England level sooner. In the second half, he seemed to be giving 50/50 decisions solely to the French. 

"The referee I thought he had an absolute nightmare, he was a joke of a referee," Gary Neville said on ITV after the game. "I'm not saying he was at fault for England's defeat. People will say it's excuses, but he was just a bad referee."

England vs France referee Wilton Sampaio was "confused in his mind"

With so little known about Sampaio, European fans were confused by an inconsistent display – but it seems like they weren't the only ones.

Tim Vickery, the BBC's South American football expert, has claimed on Twitter that the ref had no idea what a foul was or wasn't, given the change of scene from his native Brazil to the world stage. 

"It's a question of criteria," Vickery posed. "When he's in Brazil, everything is a foul. He knows this is different and tries to let things go, but he ends up confused in his own mind about what's a foul and what isn't."

Vickery is based in Brazil and would have watched Sampaio numerous times. According to him, even Brazilian television was critical of the officiating performance that many felt marred an otherwise fantastic battle.

"Brazilian TV going over it now," Vickery added in a reply. "Ex refs reluctant to attack their own kind. But no doubt – he's getting a blasting."

The criticism follows another controversial display from Antonio Mateu Lahoz during the Argentina vs Netherlands quarter-final, that was slammed by the likes of Sergio Aguero and BBC commentator Jonathan Pearce during the game.