Patrick Vieira’s time as a World Cup pundit for ITV is over – and he received an apology from Mark Pougatch as he concluded his final broadcast. Vieira was on pundit duty as France were beaten 2-0 by Spain at Dallas Stadium.
France crashed out of the World Cup on Tuesday night as a penalty from Mikel Oyarzabal and a second-half strike from Pedro Porro sealed victory for Spain, who will play either England or Argentina in Sunday’s final.
And as Pougatch concluded ITV’s coverage on Tuesday night, he apologised to Vieira, saying: “Sorry, Patrick, it has been great to have you with us for the World Cup, so you are not here this weekend, but it has been great to have you with us, so thanks very much for your contributions.” In response, Vieira said: “Thank you, it was a pleasure.”
While departing France, boss Didier Deschamps was not a happy man post-match as he questioned FIFA’s decision to appoint Salvadoran referee Ivan Barton for the game.
“There is obviously a lot of disappointment. The players are devastated because we had high ambitions,” he said.
“Although we have to be realistic and acknowledge that today we were a step below technically against a team that knew what they were doing. It’s primarily our fault.
“Then I ask a question, and I’m not going to answer it: “Is the referee good enough to officiate a World Cup semi-final?”
“We’ve had a few of those situations, and I’m not going to answer them. And I’m not saying this because we lost today, but there have been certain situations… often unfavourable to us, too.”
While Spain captain Rodri was also unhappy with Barton’s performance, as he believes Lamine Yamal should have received more protection.
He said: “We’ve been dealing with this type of situation for three games now. We’re talking about 10 or 15 uncalled fouls.
“And if we don’t call them, the defences keep doing the same thing. The permissiveness is obvious, especially today, but he had a great game.”