ESPN commentator Craig Burley was left furious with Kylian Mbappe after the forward appeared to dive in the penalty area during France’s Euro 2020 warm-up clash with Wales last night.
Both sides are finalising their preparations for the competition, which begins on June 11.
As far as friendly matches go, their fixture last night saw plenty of action. Liverpool‘s Neco Williams was sent off for a first-half handball for Wales, before France secured a 3-0 victory through goals from Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele.
But an incident involving Mbappe on 30 minutes took some of the headlines.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward collided with defender Joe Rodon in the penalty area, before falling to the ground. No penalty was given, however, with the referee signalling for play to continue.
Burley, who was commentating for ESPN on the night, wasn’t impressed, and immediately criticised the Frenchman after the adjudged dive.
Referencing Mbappe, the former Scotland international said: “Oh, get up. Get up!
“He’s got a bad habit of that him, you know. Keep an eye on him.
“Look, Mr. Innocent, Kylian Mbappe. Watch this. Watch. Cheat. Absolute cheat.
“Watch this. Look at him. Embarrassing.
“A player of his talent throwing himself over like that. The referee was spot on – he should have given him a yellow card. Give him a yellow for nonsense like that.
“If you’re going to send young boys off like Neco Williams in a friendly like that, yellow card him [Mbappe] for diving. Let’s put a stop to it before these Euros start.”
Mbappe and Benzema involved in France win
Four minutes after the diving incident, Mbappe opened the scoring for France, being the first to a rebound before striking the ball beyond ‘keeper Danny Ward.
The friendly was also notable for the first France appearance for Karim Benzema since 2015.
The 33-year-old played the full 90 minutes for France and was involved throughout, hitting the post and seeing a penalty saved by Ward.
Featured Image Credit: ESPN