Joe Hart takes aim at ITV’s Gabriel Clarke before England v Argentina (Image: BBC)
BBC pundit Joe Hart has slammed ITV rival Gabriel Clarke for questioning Jude Bellingham after England’s quarter-final win over Norway. Hart was part of the Beeb’s pundit team for the semifinal against Argentina in Atlanta. And before the game, a panel at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which also included Wayne Rooney and Micah Richards, discussed the uproar surrounding Bellingham’s post-match interview from the previous round.
England manager Thomas Tuchel has revealed that he is not satisfied with the Three Lions’ performance despite their 2-1 win over Norway. Asked about Tuchel’s comments shortly afterwards, Bellingham had a furious response to ITV’s Clarke, who also interviewed the manager, saying: “Yeah, well, whatever, whatever. It’s difficult out there. It’s difficult. It’s a tough shift. The players are all wearing very tough shirts. My thoughts and thanks go to the local players for another great shift.” He added in a separate interview that Tuchel “maybe doesn’t know what it’s like to play in those conditions” against a quality Norwegian team.
But Hart, who was previewing the last-four showdown with Argentina on the BBC, stuck with Bellingham, taking aim at Clarke’s questions. “What I like is that context is important. Thomas Tuchel cares internally about the team. If he wanted to remove what was asked of Jude Bellingham, it was a negative of what was said, so in my opinion it was a bit of a prank.”
“Of course he will react that way. He felt like he was attacked with something special. Then everyone will talk about it. But when they go back behind closed doors and Jude Bellingham gets the whole picture of what he (Tuchel) said, they will have a good laugh about it. I’m sure. I think Tuchel expects him to react like that if that’s all he’s been told.”
BBC presenter Mark Chapman tried to defend his colleague Clark, saying: “That’s a perfectly normal question to ask a player, right? After the manager has finished his interview.”
Hart said: “I’m not telling anyone how to do their job. Everybody has the right to ask questions. I mean as a player, if I’m emotional and I’m falling behind to make the semi-finals, which, by the way, I’ve never achieved, I would react like that. And I think that’s naughty. But like I said, I’m not telling you how to do your job, Chappers!”
Hart said his final line with a stern look on his face, and Chapman responded with a laugh: “Why do you threaten me in some way every time we do a show? I’m going to move on now! I’m going to move on even if I don’t have to.” Hart concluded the segment by saying, “We’re moving on now!”
England captain Harry Kane was equally furious on ITV, saying this week: “When you’re playing a game like that and you’re asked five minutes after the final whistle and he (Bellingham) didn’t really understand what the manager was saying, what do you say to Jude? We just went through a battle. It was really tough out there.”
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Joe Hart speaks on BBC before England vs Argentina match (Image: BBC)
“It’s easy to try to build this division. It seems like the British mentality, the British way to do things in a major tournament. But it’s quite the opposite. This group is where we are, not just because of the players, the coaches, the staff, but because of the unity. Sometimes it can seem like things are more than they really are.”
Mr Tuchel also confirmed that he had had transparent talks with Mr Bellingham and said the pair had recovered from the incident. The German said: “I think we come from the same place. Our comments come from the same place, being competitive and having an advantage when competition is going on.”
“So he just faced the negatives and was often a critic of my team. I called him a world-class player, I said he did something out of the world again to decide the game, I said this team’s mentality was outstanding. All that stuff wasn’t part of the question. I understand that. So he was confronted with, ‘What do you think, coach said you’re sloppy.’
“Of course, if he came out for 120 minutes and scored two goals and literally gave everything in his body, I might flip out too. That’s a very normal, very normal reaction for a player of his mindset. So it’s OK. I spoke to the whole team. I had a debriefing. I spoke to the whole team in the dressing room and it was basically the same message.”
“Then the next night I gave another briefing to move forward. And in the discussion we immediately decided on a new direction and put on a new head. That’s the semi-final, and then Argentina.”
