Sven defends skipper Beckham

Sven-Goran Eriksson has leapt to the defence of England skipper David Beckham following criticism of his two-footed lunge on Slovakia defender Martin Petras during Saturday’s European Championship qualifier in Bratislava.

Slovakian midfielder Miroslav Karhan accused Beckham of “being a cry baby” and claimed “Beckham was going into tackles with two feet.”

Eriksson conceded that Beckham may have been fortunate not to collect a yellow card for his challenge on Petras but insisted that the Manchester United star is often on the receiving of far more reckless challenges than he has come under fire for in Bratislava.

The England coach said: “I remember the situation which Slovakia have complained about. It was not a nice tackle. It was a tough tackle.

“But if you complain about that, you have to complain about many, many things that go on in any football game.

“It was a foul. Maybe it could have been a yellow card but I have seen tackles much worse than that in matches.”