Ex-England captain Faye White leads storm of protest over Alex Morgan’s tea celebration

England fans have laid into Alex Morgan after she celebrated the goal that knocked the Lionesses out of the World Cup by miming drinking tea with her little finger pointing upward.

Supporters branded the USA goal-scorer ‘disrespectful’ as she scored the decider that knocked England out in Lyon last night as fans called the display ‘classless’ and said the player had revealed an ‘ugly ego’.

Former US secretary of state and failed 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton congratulated Morgan on social media for ‘earning that tea’ following the celebration.  

Furious fans also took to social media to slam Morgan, with one writing: ‘I hope you get beat in the final – I’ll enjoy my tea. Typical YANK.’ Others criticised the ‘poor sportsmanship’ and demanded the ‘cocky’ team ‘show more class’.

Afterwards former secretary of state Hillary Clinton congratulated Morgan for ‘earning that tea’

Morgan’s celebration (top) sparked anger on Twitter, with critics accusing the US player of being ‘disrespectful’ and ‘classless’ 

Even Morgan’s own fans were embarrassed by her behaviour, with one rescinding support for her on social media and others denouncing her for the way she’d represented America on the world stage. 

Today ex-England and Arsenal women’s captain Faye White also weighed in to slam Morgan, telling Good Morning Britain she longed to have been on the pitch last night to put the player in her place.

‘I wish I was on the pitch to put in a tackle,’ she told Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid as she praised England’s players for their performance against a squad widely recognised as the best in the world.  

Piers Morgan also raged about the display, with his chief concerns being its supposed inaccuracy as he demonstrated how tea should actually be drunk.  

Piers Morgan demonstrated how he believes tea should be drunk on Good Morning Britain today after he weighed into the row on Twitter last night

 Steph Houghton watches as American goaltender Alyssa Naeher makes one of the biggest saves of the 2019 World Cup 

The Americans won 2-1 after a VAR review and defender Steph Houghton’s penalty was saved. 

Following Morgan’s goal, White appeared to net her second equaliser for England. 

But VAR ruled her offside by VAR just minutes before another blow for the Lionesses as Millie Bright was sent off after a second yellow for a stamp. 

Coach Phil Neville was left hugging his tearful squad following the defeat in Lyon last night despite the USA’s captain Megan Rapinoe being ruled out due to a hamstring injury. 

Morgan defended her display as she came under a barrage of criticism on social media, as some suggested it was a reference to the American protest against British taxation at the Boston Tea Party of 1773. 

She tweeted: ‘I was just trying to keep it interesting. 

‘Rapinoe has so many celebrations and nobody asks her anything! Obviously we have a lot of fun with celebrations and I wanted to continue the momentum.’

The US face the winner of tonight’s semi-final between the Netherlands and Sweden in the Americans’ third straight appearance in the World Cup title match. 

Fury over Morgan’s celebration comes after the US squad was criticized for their sportsmanship over elaborate celebrations throughout the tournament.

The team was heavily criticised for showy celebrations after every single goal against Thailand as they beat them 13-0.

England manager Phil Neville hugged Houghton after the game (left), while goalscorer Ellen White looked devastated 

The World Cup favorites thrashed the minnows in Riems and reacted to each goal as if it were their first. Alex Morgan (seen left with teammate Rapinoe) said her team meant no disrespect: ‘We knew that every goal could matter in this group stage game… I think it was important for us to celebrate together’. Ainon Phancha (right) of Thailand cries after losing 13-0

Many fans expressed outrage over the US women’s national team’s goal celebrations during the 13-0 rout. However, others were quick to defend the American women, saying they would do the same thing in that situation 

Storm in a tea cup! Piers Morgan calls ‘cocky’ US team’s celebrations a ‘declaration of war’ in Twitter row – before losing $1,000 on bet

Piers Morgan branded a US goalscorer’s controversial tea drinking celebration ‘an act of war’ during a Twitter row – before losing $1,000 betting the Lionesses would triumph in their semi-final.

Striker Alex Morgan sparked anger when she pretended to drink a cup of tea with her pinky finger stuck out in a clear attempt to wind up England fans that was branded ‘disrespectful’ and ‘classless’ on Twitter.

Perhaps the biggest response came from her namesake, who branded the American team ‘cocky’ and called on England players to celebrate by feigning eating a Big Mac and fries if they managed to score next.

Perhaps the biggest response came from her namesake, who branded the American team ‘cocky’ and called on England players to celebrate by feigning eating a Big Mac and fries if they managed to score next

Piers’ kicked off his Twitter coverage with a jibe at US captain Megan Rapino, claiming she had ‘bottled it’ after not appearing in the starting line-up.

This provoked plenty of kick-back from American fans, one of whom challenged him to a $100 bet on the charity of his choice if England lost.

He accepted the officer from Army veteran Charlotte Clymer and upped the stake to $1,000.

As the game progressed, Ellen White equalised to make it 1-1 before Alex Morgan hit back – prompting the controversial celebration.

‘That’s NOT how you sip tea,’ Piers tweeted. ‘Dope, not tea.’

He continued: ‘When we win this, I hope every one of our players feigns eating a Big Mac and large fries.

‘It’s bordering on a declaration of war.’