Hasselbaink in furious tunnel bust-up
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was at the centre of an angry confrontation with the fourth official at half-time of England ‘s clash with Brazil on Saturday night.
It is understood that the England coach, who is part of manager Gareth Southgate’s backroom team, was furious with a number of decisions in the first-half. And, when the players and officials made their way to their dressing rooms at half-time, the former Chelsea striker made his feelings clear to the official.
Speaking ahead of the second-half, Channel 4 broadcaster Kelly Sommers revealed: “Well I can tell you that it might have been feisty on the pitch, it was exactly that in the tunnel as well. I am sat behind the Brazil bench, they were animated throughout the first-half.
“And England coach Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink followed the fourth official down the tunnel. They were deep in conversation. Unfortunately, I’m not multi-lingual, it wasn’t in English.
“But Danilo also got involved. Hasselbaink’s message was ‘one, two, three, four fouls, too many fouls’. So it will be interesting to see if the referee manages this second half any differently.”
Hasselbaink’s complaints are thought to have been centred around the decision not to send off West Ham star Lucas Paqueta during the firsthalf at Wembley. He had picked up a booking for a foul on Jude Bellingham and soon hauled down the midfielder again.
This time, the referee elected to keep his cards in his pocket, while Bellingham also made his complaints known to the linesman. The first half eventually ended level between the two sides. Surprisingly, Paqueta emerged from the dressing rooms for the second-half and was eventually taken off 70 minutes in.
Hasselbaink appeared to have calmed down during the second period. He took his seat on the England bench among fellow members of the coaching team.
The former Chelsea and Leeds forward has held a position with the England coaching team for just over a year. He was appointed in March 2023 by Gareth Southgate.
Speaking at the time, the Three Lions boss said: “He’s someone I know from having played with him at Middlesbrough and I know how curious he is about his coaching and he took that very seriously in his period managing. Because he’s managed as well, but also has a keen eye on the attacking players, he’s going to provide a really good foil for us in terms of different views and opinions.
“He’s got a great personality among the group and he can be challenging and demanding, and I think we need that around our coaching team. We need that for the players, we need the whole group to demand more and more of each other.
“To get to where we have has been difficult, but to get to the next bit is the biggest challenge of all and we’re hoping Jimmy can help to take us there.”