Argentina’s Leandro Paredes branded ‘pathetic’ after reaction to Harry Kane incident | OneFootball

Argentina’s Leandro Paredes was branded “pathetic” by former England goalkeeper Joe Hart after appearing to try and get Harry Kane sent off for covering his mouth during the World Cup semi-final.

Midfielder Paredes spotted an opportunity to complain to referee Ismail Elfath after Kane briefly covered his mouth while talking to the United States official during what was a bruising first half in Atlanta littered with fouls.

This World Cup has seen officials enforcing a new rule, introduced before the tournament, which mandates an immediate red card for players covering their mouths during verbal confrontations with an opponent.

England's Harry Kane and Argentina's Leandro Paredes, right, during the World Cup semi-final (AP)

Ecuador’s Piero Hincapie and Paraguay’s Miguel Almiron were both sent off for covering their mouths during confrontations with opponents earlier in the tournament, in games against Mexico and Australia respectively.

Kane, however, was not involved in a confrontation with an opponent and the England captain appeared bemused as Paredes approached referee Elfath and complained that the striker had been covering his mouth.

Former England goalkeeper Hart was not impressed, either. “Pathetic,” he said. “He was talking to the referee. He was trying to be clear. It's so difficult to communicate out there. Harry Kane's just trying to have a conversation with the referee.

“I get it. Of course they're going to do anything they can to win this game. If you're going to go letter of the law and you see that, but come on, just win the game by scoring more goals.”

England were then urged to “give as good as they’ve got” against Argentina’s underhanded tactics after the holders committed a litany of fouls in the first half of their World Cup semi-final.

Argentina were guilty of 12 fouls in the first 45 minutes but were only shown one yellow card, with Lisandro Martinez the sole Argentinian to enter the book.

Thomas Tuchel’s men hardly looked like they were being bullied, however, with pundits Wayne Rooney and Hart delighted with how the Three Lions have so far reacted to the “wind-up” game of Argentina.

“Argentina would have definitely spoken about this before the game: ‘Let’s get into Jude [Bellingham], try and wind him up, try and make him get a yellow card, try and get him sent off’. It’s really important that we don’t take that bait, and we don't allow them to keep doing it, and we don't react badly to it,” said Rooney on BBC One.

“We have to be clever enough not to be involved. When there's a tackle there, go and win it with force, but do not get involved because the Argentina team, they do this a lot. They do this in other games, and they're used to it.”