Football Association chairman Greg Dyke has defended the cut-throat gesture he made as England's 2014 World Cup group was drawn earlier this month.
.
Dyke was seen to slide his index finger across his throat as England were placed in Group D alongside Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica during the draw in Brazil on 6 December.
.
"I don't think it was a furore," said Dyke, 66.
.
"My reaction was the same as every fan, that's quite a difficult group."
.
Dyke, speaking at a 150th anniversary ceremony celebrating FA founder Ebeneezer Cobb Morley on Thursday, added: "To fly 2,000 miles up to the jungle to have a game of football then to fly 2,000 miles back in the middle of a World Cup is in itself tough.
.
"There are three big teams in that group and two will get out; hopefully one of them will be us."
English press should forget about the gesture and focus on the group itself. I see them progressing
Uruguay might not even scale through even with their Suarez. They have lots of OLD players there.