Christophe Ridley has responded to a controversial tweet made by ITV football pundit and former England right-back Gary Neville.
The former Manchester United star made some harsh remarks regarding the referee following England’s exit from the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Wilton Sampaio’s decision-making was under the spotlight when Bukayo Saka was caught by Dayot Upamecano in the build-up to Aurelien Tchouameni’s opening goal for France.
Neville tweets following the game: “Ref is a joke!”
He late said of the referee: “He had an absolute nightmare. A joke of a referee. I’m not saying it was all down to England’s defeat – people will say it is excuses – but he’s just a bad referee, rank bad.”
Premiership whistleblower Ridley responded, writing: “The ripple effect of this tweet impacts refereeing standards in the long term,”
“Even for those who do pick up a whistle, in the end all you’re left with is the referees that are able to tolerate and survive … not the actual best referees!
“Unknowingly this damages the game.”
Next England Rugby Head Coach odds:
#8. Gareth Southgate – 500/1
#7. Jonny Wilkinson – 50/1
#6. Sir Clive Woodward – 30/1
