England World Cup star breaks rank and slams FIFA over ‘rubbish’ decision | Football | Sport
England star Marc Guehi has become the first member of the Three Lions squad to criticise FIFA for their ticket prices at the tournament. Thomas Tuchel’s side reached the semi-final of the tournament, where they went on to lose 2-1 to runners-up Argentina.
The defeat in Atlanta last week saw England book their spot in the third-place play-off match in Miami on Saturday, where the Three Lions went on to claim a 6-4 victory over France.
However, the game in Florida saw several thousand empty seats at Miami Stadium, with an official attendance of 64,478 being well below the 71,000 maximum capacity.
The subject of ticket prices for the World Cup has been controversial and widely debated throughout the tournament, particularly for the knockout stages.
As of 10am on Friday, the day before the game between England and France, 7,000 tickets were still available, including 1,246 on general sale.
This resulted in tickets being priced at £657 and £855 in general sale for the third-place play-off match.
After helping England claim a win over France, Guehi took the opportunity to thank the travelling fans and also called out FIFA over the ticket prices for the fixture.
“It’s always hard, especially when you feel like you should have been in the final, so it was down to us to try to do the best that we could,” Guehi told reporters after the victory over Les Bleus.
“We owe it to fans back home for the support.”
The Manchester City defender added: “We definitely owe it to everyone who came and watched, especially here in Miami.
“Because ticket pricing was rubbish, I don’t know what they were thinking, FIFA, to be honest. So at least they could enjoy a fairly entertaining game.”
England’s victory over France saw them secure a third-place finish at the World Cup, leaving Spain and Argentina to battle it out for the final on Sunday.
Spain emerged victorious, claiming a 1-0 victory over Argentina at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey thanks to a goal from Barcelona star Ferran Torres during extra time.
