Wayne Rooney found himself at the centre of a storm of criticism from BBC viewers following England's dramatic 2-1 World Cup knockout victory against DR Congo on Wednesday evening.
Harry Kane rescued the Three Lions with a late second-half brace after the team had fallen behind to an early goal in the first half.
The match, which secured England's passage to the round of 16 where they will face co-hosts Mexico in Mexico City, was overshadowed by the former Manchester United striker's controversial analysis from the BBC studio in Salford.
Fans took to social media in droves to condemn his punditry throughout the broadcast.
Wayne Rooney came under fire on social media over his punditry
|BBC
During the half-time interval, Rooney backed the match official's decision to wave away England's penalty appeals when Kane went down in the box.
The former England captain argued that the striker had stumbled over his own feet before making contact with the opposition goalkeeper.
"I think Harry Kane trips himself a bit and jumps into the goalkeeper a little bit," Rooney explained during the BBC broadcast.
He elaborated that Kane appeared to stub his right foot into the turf before launching himself towards the onrushing keeper.
While acknowledging the goalkeeper had positioned himself vulnerably, Rooney maintained the incident resembled a dive rather than a legitimate foul.
The penalty decision provoked a furious response across social media platforms. One viewer declared on X: "Rooney talking complete s**t there.
Harry Kane went down in the first half looking for a penalty | REUTERS"That is an absolute stonewall penalty. It doesn't matter Kane is looking for it and made the contact, the keeper lead with the hands, narrowed the angle and doesn't win the ball! He gave Kane no choice. To not go to the screen is a f***ing joke."
Another fan suggested Rooney would have reacted very differently had he been the player involved, writing: "If that was Rooney playing at Old Trafford, it's a penalty 1,000 out of 1,000 times."
Others accused him of ignoring clear contact from the defender on Kane's leg.
However, the penalty row was merely the opening act in what fans branded a disastrous evening of punditry from Rooney.
Following the final whistle, he suggested that Thomas Tuchel should have contacted the 36-year-old Kyle Walker to come out of retirement and replace the injured Tino Livramento, rather than selecting Trevoh Chalobah.
"Kyle is still more than good enough and more than capable of playing in this England team," Rooney insisted.
The proposal drew widespread mockery online, with one supporter on X declaring it "the worst bit of punditry I've seen this tournament." Another simply responded: "Kyle f*****g Walker!!!! Hahahah muppet."