08 August 2023 , 21:45
702
0
Tennis star Nick Kyrgios could not resist issuing a veiled dig at Piers Morgan, even if the outspoken pair did find themselves agreeing over a viral clip of Megan Rapinoe.
The 38-year-old winger played a bit-part role for the Stars and Stripes during the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this summer and missed a vital penalty in the shootout versus Sweden. Unable to repeat her heroics of four years ago, when she scored the winning penalty in the World Cup final shootout, she blazed her attempt over the bar to condemn the US to an early exit this time around.
Overall, the USWNT had a tournament to forget Down Under, with their loss in the Round of 16 their worst showing in the nation's history on the world stage. They were far from convincing in the group stage as well, recording just a single win in what was also their worst performance at that phase of the competition's history.
Rapinoe has also faced criticism for her reaction following her miss in the aforementioned penalty shootout versus Sweden, which finished 5-4. The OL Reign star fired her shot over the bar from twelve yards but walked back to the centre-circle with a smile on her face.
In truth, the team has come in for criticism from a variety of camps, with some observers even calling the character of key names into question. Now, both Kyrgios and Morgan have given their opinions on US stalwart Rapinoe's conduct during a clip which has circled around social media in recent weeks.
John Terry takes swipe at Piers Morgan after Arsenal fan issued Chelsea reminder
The Talk TV host was seemingly left irked by the behaviour of the US international after she was shown signing an autograph for a young fan at the ESPY Awards back in 2019. The boy approached the two-time world champion, handing her a football before she proceeded to sign it - seemingly without looking at the child once.
The two have not exactly seen eye to eye in the past, with Morgan having been critical of the one-time Wimbledon finalist but it appears that they have called a truce in this instance. Rapinoe's demeanour during this interaction with the youngster was not to the taste of Morgan, who issued a barbed denunciation of the 202-time capped player's behaviour on Twitter.
Rapinoe was handed the ball to sign while appearing at an awards ceremony (@OliLondonTV/Twitter)
Rapinoe was criticised at the time for not looking at the young fan while signing his football (@OliLondonTV/Twitter)He said: "[Rapinoe] doesn’t even look at him. Diabolical arrogance". Australian tennis star Kyrgios then conceded that he agreed with the typically forthright TV presenter, as he quoted the tweet adding: "Hahahahahaha one thing me and Piers [Morgan] agree on."
They were not the only people agreeing on this issue either, with a number of Twitter users having also expressed their disapproval towards Rapinoe's conduct in this instance. One person commented: "Literally 10 seconds of her day. All she had to do was look at him and smile."
Another stated: "If I was that kid I would have told her to keep that ball. Awful attitude". Some users did defend Rapinoe, however, with one adding: "It’s been snipped, how do you not know there was a discussion with the young fella before the clip?"