Football

Tuchel’s complaints lead to Fifa moving photographers

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England head coach Thomas Tuchel has won a battle with FIFA to get photographers moved away from the bench during the national anthems.

Tuchel said he "could not see my team" before Wednesday's 4-2 win over Croatia, with a wall of photographers blocking his view to the pitch.

FIFA has now changed its policy and agreed to a compromise for all affected games.

Photographers will now be grouped in a huddle closer to the halfway line - allowing an unobstructed view for the coaching staff.

The Group L game in Dallas was Tuchel's first as a World Cup manager, but he revealed that the occasion, particularly the emotion of the national anthems, was spoiled.

"I have to tell you something. I'm begging FIFA to change the position of the photographers in the national anthem, because I could not see my team," Tuchel said.

"It was a very special moment, and I was standing in front of a wall of 50 photographers, and I could not see one single player. It ruined a little bit of my experience."

AT&T Stadium usually serves as the home stadium of the Dallas Cowboys, and the NFL field is too small for World Cup matches.

The surface had to be raised by 1.2m to fit a football pitch, which meant part of the sidelines was lost, resulting in limited space for the coaches and photographers during the national anthems.

FIFA first deployed the new approach during Thursday's Group A fixture between the Czech Republic and South Africa in Atlanta.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.