‘I think it’s naughty’ BBC pundit speaks out on ITV after England World Cup knockout match
Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart has weighed in on the row about ITV Sport’s post-match interviews after the Three Lions knocked Norway out of the World Cup.
England won the quarter-final 2-1 thanks to a pair of Jude Bellingham goals but much of the reaction over the subsequent days focused on the on-pitch interviews conducted at Miami Stadium by reporter Gabriel Clarke.
After a tense conversation in which Tuchel explained that he was unhappy about England’s performance in the quarter-final clash, Clarke relayed the view to match-winner Bellingham.
‘I would react like that and I think it’s naughty’
“Yeah, well, whatever. Whatever. It’s difficult out there. It’s a tough shift,” replied Bellingham, fresh from 120 minutes of graft in stifling heat.
Speaking in his role as a pundit for BBC Sport before the semi-final between England and Argentina on Wednesday, Hart was clear that the nature of Clarke’s Bellingham interview was not in line with his tastes.
“What I love about that exchange though is context is key and when I talk about with Thomas Tuchel, is he cares what’s inside this squad,” Hart told Mark Chapman before England’s semi-final against Argentina.
“Now, if you were to go off what was being asked to Jude Bellingham, which was a bit naughty in my opinion because it was only the negative of what Thomas said, of course he’s going to react like that because he felt like he was being attacked, having done something special.
“But when you go back behind closed doors and Jude Bellingham realises what [Tuchel] said on the whole, they’re having a laugh about it.”
Asked by Chapman whether Clarke had just asked Bellingham ‘a perfectly normal question’ in the aftermath of his manager’s question, Hart stood firm in his view.
“I’m not telling anyone how to do their job and everyone is within their rights to ask the question. I’m telling you as a player, if I’m emotional, I’m off the back of getting to a semi-final, which I haven’t done by the way, I would react like that, and I think it’s naughty.”
Clarke is a respected and experienced reporter whose correspondence has become synonymous with ITV’s England coverage over the course of decades, but the awkward interviews in Florida have met with a frosty reaction.
It’s been reported that more than 400 people have complained to Ofcom about the interviews, while England captain Harry Kane has also spoken out, suggesting that Bellingham, in the context of the interview in question, couldn’t really have responded in any other way.
