LYON, France — We have found the most sensitive soul at the World Cup – it's English coach Phil Neville.

Send hugs. Send sympathy. This guy can get offended at anything.

Either that, or he was just so desperate to find some kind of perceived slight by the United States to motivate his team before Tuesday’s World Cup semifinal clash that he’s willing to moan and lecture about nothing … literally nothing. (Considering Neville is former player for Manchester United, we're guessing this is it.)

The issue? Well, apparently two staff members of U.S. Soccer dared to visit the hotel here in Lyon where FIFA would put the Americans should they defeat England and advance to Sunday’s World Cup final.

England is currently staying at that hotel. The U.S. is at a different one.

The two staffers were administrators who work in operations. They were not coaches or players or scouts. There is no allegation of spying. Even Phil Neville couldn’t go that far. They were there, apparently, to see where the meeting rooms and training areas and things like that are located. Basically they were doing their job.

Neville somehow got so bent out of shape – passive-aggressively, of course – that he declared all of this a breach of “etiquette” and suggested that U.S. coach Jill Ellis discipline the staffers. (Spoiler: she won’t.)

“It is not something I would want my team [operations] person to do,” Neville stated Sunday at the pre-match press conference. “It’s not something England would do. We’re happy with our hotel. We were training. So, I hope they enjoyed the hotel.

“It’s not something we’d do, send someone around to another team’s hotel,” Neville continued. “But it’s their problem. I’m sure Jill would not have been happy with that arrangement. I wouldn’t have been if that was my team opps person going around. And I’m sure she will be dealing with that within their own discipline.”

No one wanted to hurt Neville’s feelings and alert him to the fact that Ellis will not be taking his advice for staff punishment. Actually, she was cool with the visit. U.S. staffers also reportedly visited the hotel in Nice, France that FIFA will put them if they lose to England and have to play in the third-place game.

View photos Phil Neville says a pair of USWNT staffers doing their jobs is an example of American arrogance. Right. (Getty) More

Ellis appeared slightly amused when the British media asked her if this was a sign of American arrogance.

Really, an English coach lecturing the Americans about the proper etiquette of operations staffer is a sign of American arrogance?

Got it.

Ellis just smiled.

“Well I would assume everybody’s doing that,” Ellis said. “You have to plan ahead. The only two people who think of planning ahead on my team is my administrator, because she has to book all the flights and everything and do all that stuff, and her boss. Everybody else, we don’t worry about that. So that’s probably who the two people were and that’s important to do your job.

“So in terms of arrogance, I think that’s got nothing to do with us,” Ellis continued. “That’s planning, preparation for our staff. So yeah, it’s pretty normal … they think about that so we don’t have to.”

Neville did not think it was normal. He tried to downplay it at times, but his feelings – or pretend feelings (they can’t be real) – on the subject were clear by the fact he kept droning on and on about it.

“It’s not an unfair advantage,” he said, noting the obvious. “It will have no bearing on the game. I actually found it quite funny. I just thought, ‘what doing?’ It’s not etiquette really, is it? It’s not something I would allow for our organization.”

Other than it being quite humorous, this was quite welcome. The play here at the World Cup has been excellent, but also mostly respectful, at least before the games. Great competitions are always a better with a little spice, and while this is about the smallest amount of spice as can possibly exist (are we really discussing the operations administrator?), every little bit helps.

Story continues