Thomas Tuchel has voiced strong criticism of the World Cup's refereeing standards, labeling them as "erratic and unreliable" in the wake of England's dramatic 3-2 victory over Mexico.
Tuchel, the manager of the English national team, fears that questionable decisions by referees and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system could jeopardize England's chances in the tournament. The manager and his assistant, Anthony Barry, were notably involved in animated exchanges with officials on the touchline during the match at the Azteca Stadium. These confrontations arose from decisions that led to the expulsion of player Jarell Quansah and a penalty awarded against Harry Kane.
"The referee can send any team out in any moment. It's just not good enough. It's erratic, it's unreliable in matches," Tuchel stated. "Now we have two fourth officials who just scream at you if you put one foot out of a coaching zone. It's just not good enough."
The penalty incident involving Kane and the earlier red card for Quansah were both reviewed pitchside by Australian referee Alireza Faghani after he did not make an immediate call. Tuchel noted that VAR interventions seemed less frequent earlier in the tournament.
"We give everything and then decisions are overturned in a very questionable way," Tuchel added. "But it's not only about the big decisions, the little decisions, the consistency in the decisions. You're just out there, it's like almost on the open sea, in front of the court, you don't know what's going to happen. They're just not on the level."
He emphasized the need for high-level officiating to match the players' performance. "You play high level now. You need highest-level refereeing. It's just not good enough for the players, for the game."
Tuchel questioned the practicality of warning players about VAR interventions, particularly in high-stakes moments. "Do you really think that Harry in this moment thinks, 'Oh, VAR!'? He just goes to the ball and there's a contact - it's a contact sport! We cannot look at stills and think, 'Oh, contact, penalty'. You don't give a foul and then you go to penalty. You don't even give a foul and then you go to a red card. It’s just not good enough."
Despite the officiating controversies, England is set to face Norway in the quarter-finals in Miami on Saturday. Tuchel believes the resilience shown in the Mexico City match has bolstered his team's confidence.
"It fuels our belief that we are here to stay," he said. "We are in a part of a tournament, round of 32, round of 16, where you just need to find a way to stay in the tournament, you need to find a way to win. We will stay with the motto, step by step, and game by game. But of course, matches like this, you can only win them with belief, and it will just fuel our belief."
Tuchel praised his squad's spirit, stating, "We have a top team, there's so much to love about this team. I think coaching is always necessary and we try to help them through these moments, and there was a lot not going in our favour, there was a lot going against us. But they just hang in there, they just refuse to give in, it's very, very good."