Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart has entered the debate surrounding ITV Sport's on-pitch interviews following England's 2-1 quarter-final victory over Norway at the FIFA World Cup.

England advanced to the semi-finals on the strength of two goals from Jude Bellingham, but the aftermath of the win was dominated by controversy over post-match interviews conducted at Miami Stadium by ITV reporter Gabriel Clarke.

The interview that sparked the row

Tensions arose when Clarke relayed to Bellingham the critical remarks that manager Thomas Tuchel had made about England's performance in the quarter-final. Bellingham, exhausted after 120 minutes in intense heat, replied tersely: "Yeah, well, whatever. Whatever. It's difficult out there. It's a tough shift."

Speaking ahead of England's semi-final against Argentina on Wednesday, Hart used his platform as a BBC Sport pundit to offer a player's perspective on the exchange.

"If you were to go off what was being asked to Jude Bellingham, which was a bit naughty in my opinion because it was only the negative of what Thomas said, of course he's going to react like that because he felt like he was being attacked, having done something special."

Hart defends Bellingham's reaction

Hart argued that Clarke's question presented only the critical side of Tuchel's comments, stripping them of their full context. He told presenter Mark Chapman that behind closed doors, the mood between Bellingham and Tuchel was far more relaxed than the pitch-side exchange suggested.

When Chapman pushed back — asking whether Clarke had simply posed a perfectly normal question — Hart stood his ground without directing blame at the reporter.

"I'm not telling anyone how to do their job and everyone is within their rights to ask the question. I'm telling you as a player, if I'm emotional, I'm off the back of getting to a semi-final, which I haven't done by the way, I would react like that, and I think it's naughty."

Growing backlash

Clarke is a veteran ITV reporter whose work has been central to the broadcaster's England coverage for decades. Yet the Florida interviews have attracted significant criticism — more than 400 complaints have reportedly been filed with Ofcom. England captain Harry Kane has also weighed in, suggesting Bellingham had little choice but to respond the way he did given the framing of the question.