Gary Neville slammed FIFA for its ‘unforgivable’ decision during Sunday’s World Cup final between Spain and Argentina.
Ferran Torres’ extra-time goal saw Spain triumph 1-0 over the defending champions in a game that largely failed to live up to its billing.
Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina did not take a single shot at goal in normal time, and retreated further into their shell after Enzo Fernandez was shown a second yellow card for a reckless challenge on Pau Cubarsi.
Spain eventually made their numerical advantage count in extra-time, with Argentina unable to summon a late comeback to send the game to penalties.
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Sunday’s showpiece event in New Jersey will, perhaps unfortunately, be remembered most for the off-pitch antics throughout the evening.
Ugly post-match scenes have already sparked an investigation from FIFA after a few Argentina players and staff appeared to punch Spanish players shortly after the full-time whistle.
Meanwhile, a long and protracted half-time show drew widespread criticism, with former England captain Wayne Rooney describing the performance as ‘crap’.
Even before kick-off, FIFA produced a lengthy closing ceremony, which featured performances from Post Malone and popular streamer IShowSpeed.
However, inevitable delays in removing staging from the pitch to prepare for kick-off ultimately meant the game kicked off six minutes late, an outcome which Neville described as ‘unforgivable’.
Speaking on Stick to Football with Sky Bet, he said: ‘I didn’t mind the spectacle but that wasn’t half a long old day with extra-time and the half-time show.
‘The game kicked off late, that’s unforgivable, isn’t it?
‘If you kick off late in League Two, you get fined. You can’t kick a World Cup final off late. You’ve literally had four years to plan for it.’
Elsewhere, former Arsenal striker Ian Wright insisted questions should be asked about the quality of the pitch at the MetLife Stadium.
‘It was a terrible pitch, a terrible pitch for the standard of player, and the calibre of the player who was playing on it,’ he said.
‘A World Cup final on that pitch? So bad?’
Despite several contentious flashpoints throughout the tournament, FIFA president Gianni Infantino still lauded the event in North America as a ‘great success’.
‘From an engagement – a world engagement point of view – from a community point of view, from a social point of view, from a cultural point of view, this has been a huge success, and we have seen that when people come together they want to celebrate, they want to enjoy,’ he said.
‘Now the FIFA World Cup as well is, of course, it looks nice when you watch it on TV. I hope, I think, from the matches I’ve seen on TV, it definitely does. It looks beautiful when you’re there, when you’re in the stadium, when you feel this energy.
‘By the way, did you see all these families in the stadiums? All these women in the stadiums? All this positivity in the stadiums? Fans from different parts of the world, from different countries were so excited about it.’
And President Donald Trump is keen for the tournament to make a quick return to the United States, telling Fox: ‘I think it’s a great idea, but based on the numbers, we will be requesting it again immediately.
‘But I said to take out the shock, you could announce us and maybe then for the next one another, and even another. But we have to do this again, and we have to do it while I’m around. You hear that, Gianni?’
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