Referee trouble at Wembley
Tuchel angry at German referee: “It was a used day”
March 28, 2026 – 11:42 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
England have to settle for a draw in the friendly against Uruguay. After the game, Thomas Tuchel rages against the German referee.
In the World Cup preparation game against Uruguay, England drew 1-1 at London’s Wembley Stadium – and coach Thomas Tuchel didn’t give referee Sven Jablonski any good. The German publicly criticized three specific decisions made by the referee and refused to speak to him after the final whistle.
Tuchel made his stance clear: “I didn’t talk to him, I didn’t want to. That wasn’t a good performance at all throughout the game.”
The first excitement occurred at the beginning of the second half. Uruguay defender Ronald Araujo kicked Phil Foden open-soled – Jablonski allowed play to continue. Foden had to be substituted for Cole Palmer in the 56th minute. Central defender Harry Maguire was stunned: “It’s not often you see tackles like this that don’t result in a red card. There are only a few months left until the World Cup and we have referees who allow tackles like this. That’s disappointing.”
The second controversial moment concerned the Uruguayan Manuel Ugarte. According to TV images in England, the Manchester United midfielder was shown yellow after a foul on Palmer in the 70th minute – and again eleven minutes later. Nevertheless, he stayed on the pitch. It was later said that the first warning had been withdrawn by the fourth official.
The injury time provided the third excitement. Ben White had given England the lead in the 81st minute, but then committed a foul on Federico Viñas. Federico Valverde converted the penalty in the 94th minute after VAR was used to make the final score 1-1. Tuchel commented on the decision: “Perhaps Ben is a bit greedy at this moment, but overturning a decision when the referee clearly signaled with both hands that he saw it and it wasn’t enough for him.”
Tuchel fundamentally questioned the use of VAR in this case. He was “surprised that the VAR was even in use because I thought it wasn’t working because the foul on Phil Foden wasn’t even checked, nor was the foul on Noni (Madueke). And then suddenly this case was checked.” His verdict was brief: “Okay, a used day.”
Tuchel had rested Bayern striker Harry Kane, among others, for the game. England will face Japan in their next friendly on Tuesday.
