Beckham criticised for yellow card

FIFA chief Sepp Blatter has criticised England captain David Beckham for his deliberate booking against Wales and says he will raise the matter with the Football Association (FA), British media reported on Wednesday.

Beckham sparked a controversy by telling a British newspaper he picked up a yellow card in Saturday's World Cup qualifying victory in order to serve a one-match ban while injured.

"It's disappointing because it is not the behaviour that befits an ambassador of football and fair play," Blatter was quoted as saying in Azerbaijan, where England were playing another Group Six qualifier on Wednesday.

"Beckham is a role model for footballers everywhere. I will be having a word with (chairman) Geoff Thompson of the FA about the situation while I am here in Baku. After that it is not up to FIFA."

Beckham had just sustained what later proved to be a fractured rib when he ploughed into Wales defender Ben Thatcher in the 2-0 win in Manchester, triggering an automatic suspension for Wednesday's game in Baku.

There was sharper criticism on Tuesday from England's 1966 World Cup final hero Geoff Hurst, who said Beckham's comments had brought the country into disrepute and that in his day they would have cost the Real Madrid midfielder his captaincy.