Joe McConnell
George Mills was involved in a heated altercation with Frenchman Hugo Hay after the Briton was involved in a collision during his 5000m heat at the Stade de France.
Hay remained standing after several men, including Mills, fell during the final lap.
After the men crossed the finish line, Mills and Hay were seen arguing and making physical contact, with Mills furiously pointing at the Frenchman.
Mills claimed Hay was responsible for the incident and officials agreed the Briton had been disadvantaged, advancing him to Saturday’s final after a review by the video referee.
Mills told the BBC: “I think it’s pretty clear. I got trampled as I was about to start the home straight and boom, the French guy knocked me off.”
Asked what he had said when confronted Hay, the answer was: “I’m probably not allowed to say.”
He added: “From my point of view, that was the perfect qualifier for me, to get through the first 2km in six minutes. I thought, ‘No one in this field can escape me at this pace,’ so I was sitting, waiting, waiting for the right moment, to start the home straight and then bang, hit the ground. What can you do?”
Mills, 25, is the son of former Leeds and England full-back Danny.
Patrick Dever and George Mills of Great Britain during the heats of the men’s 5000 metres at the Stade de France
Former Olympic silver medalist Steve Cram, commenting on the race for the BBChe claimed that Mills had put himself in a “bad position.”
“George was in a bad position from a long way back, he should have left much earlier,” said Cram, speaking before Mills advanced to the final.
“George, from what I could see, gave a good push in the home straight and it will be really interesting to see what (the stewards) decide.
“There are a lot of experienced men in there and yes, everyone thinks they can give their best, but when you get to that situation [very slow pace] the chances of people falling increase dramatically.”
Hay told Discovery+: “There was a big collision. It wasn’t me. Someone pushed me. Something happened, I turned around and everyone was on the ground, so I hope it wasn’t me. I feel really good.”
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