ITV has been hit with hundreds of Ofcom complaints following pundit Gabriel Clarke's post-match interviews after England's World Cup quarter-final victory over Norway on July 11. The broadcasting watchdog confirmed it received 443 complaints regarding the coverage.
According to an Ofcom spokesperson, "The majority of complainants objected to Gabriel Clarke’s line of questioning in post-match interviews with Thomas Tuchel and Jude Bellingham." Viewers accused Clarke of stoking division and tension within the England squad.
Viewer backlash on social media
Many viewers took to social media to express their anger. One wrote on X, "Remove Gabriel Clarke from ITV’s World Cup Coverage," while another replied, "Yes, get rid." A third fumed, "I'm sure Thomas Tuchel will sort out any divide that Gabriel Clarke tried to create with what he said to Bellingham in the post-match interview. Absolutely no need when Jude was in such a positive mindspace #itvsport #NorEng #WorldCup2026."
Another viewer added, "If England go out tonight, I’m blaming Gabriel Clarke & @ITV. Trying to create cracks where no cracks existed. Dreadful stuff." Someone else commented, "It’s mad. No England fan is confident, and the English media constantly trashes the team. Look at the Gabriel Clarke interview post Norway ffs."
The controversial interview
The complaints stemmed from Clarke's post-match interviews after the match. Speaking to England manager Thomas Tuchel, Clarke suggested the squad might have a "mentality problem." Tuchel had earlier expressed dissatisfaction with the performance, saying, "I’m not happy with the performance. We made life very, very difficult for ourselves. The result is fantastic, we’re in the last four, it’s amazing, but we’re not happy with the performance. The commitment is there, but we made life very difficult for us in the way we played, how we played."
He added, "Sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough, not repetitive enough. We were lucky today." Clarke then asked, "Is it a mentality problem?" Tuchel hit back, "It’s not a mentality problem, this is pure mentality. How can you ask about mentality now? This is pure mentality, you can bottle it up and sell it. It’s the quality of our games. That’s it. It has nothing to do with mentality."
Clarke then approached Jude Bellingham, informing him that Tuchel was "not very happy" with the display. Bellingham responded, "Yeah, well, whatever. Whatever. It’s difficult out there. It’s a tough shift. All the players have put in a very tough shift, so my thoughts and appreciation go to the players out there who put in a great shift."
Defence from Piers Morgan
Piers Morgan defended Clarke, calling the backlash "a load of absolute codswallop." He wrote on X, "Gabriel did his job superbly well. He asked the right questions, and got very newsworthy answers. It’s not his fault that Tuchel decided to go nuclear (which I loved) and then of course he had to ask Bellingham about it."
The Daily Mirror has reached out to ITV for comment. ITV has not yet publicly responded to the complaints.
