Gary Neville and Roy Keane were shut down by former ref Peter Walton as they raged over Argentina's penalty award against Croatia.
The pair of Manchester United icons were left seething when Daniele Orsato pointed to the spot for an alleged foul on Julian Alvarez in the World Cup semi-final. There was obvious contact and Croatia keeper Dominik Livakovic failed to win the ball but Neville and Keane both believed it was harsh as the keeper could not possibly have got out of the way.
But ITV called on former top whistler Walton who shut the duo down, claiming there would have been no complaints if it was an outfield player. When asked what else the keeper was supposed to do, he said: "Well, win the ball for one thing. If he's challenging for the ball and misses it completely, therefore he's impeded his progress. Therefore it has to be a foul.
"I understand what they are saying in terms of where else could he go, but in parallel to that, if an outfield player slides in, misses the ball and catches the man, it's always a foul. Fast forward to the goalkeeper, he's done exactly the same."
Neville then asked if the keeper should have to move out of the way and Walton said: "No. But he has to make sure he gets some contact on the ball, otherwise it's classed as impeding the player. It may seem harsh, but it's a foul."
Neville was quick to shut Walton down, saying: "Peter, are you suggesting a goalkeeper who is coming out in the line of the ball has to move out the way to allow the player to have a shot?", to which Walton hastily responded: "No, but he needs to make sure he has to get some contact on the ball." Presenter Mark Pougatch even got in on the action, saying: "What you're saying is, the shot has to hit him before it can be construed as a foul?!"
Walton then stated that Livakovic had been 'careless' in his actions, which shocked Wright and Neville, with the latter saying: "If I'm a defender, and the striker is about to have a shot, and I block my leg and he shoots and runs into me, that can't be a foul! Anyway..."
Ally McCoist then weighed in on commentary after the game resumed: "My initial reaction was it was a penalty. And now I double think it's a penalty. I can't understand why they're saying it's not, it's a foul anywhere else on the pitch. Livakovic prevents him going forward, the referee's got it spot on."
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