England's humiliated footballers arrived home as the officials who denied them a goal in their final game were also told their World Cup was over.

There were glum faces and few smiles as former captain David Beckham led the team off the plane with Jamie Carragher and Michael Carrick just behind him.

An entourage of players' wives, girlfriends and family followed them on to the tarmac at London's Heathrow Airport.

Unlike returning fans, the players were whisked through a VIP suite without having to pass through one of Heathrow's terminals - or to face the waiting press.

The team's exit leaves a question mark over the future of manager Fabio Capello.

The Italian said he wanted to stay at the helm despite the team's thrashing by the Germans. But he must wait two weeks to learn his fate.

Asked about the performance of his players, Capello said they were tired after their hectic Premier League season.

And he pointed to Frank Lampard's disallowed second 'goal', suggesting the outcome of Sunday's game might have been different if the referee had got the decision right.

The referee behind that decision and his assistants - Uruguayan official Jorge Larrionda and assistants Mauricio Espinosa and Pablo Fandino - have been sent home by the football governing body, Fifa. They were told they are not being retained for the quarter-final stages and beyond.

Fifa president Sepp Blatter was also forced to apologise to the FA following the officials' inexplicable failure to spot Lampard's first-half shot had bounced two feet over the line when it crashed down off the crossbar. It prompted Mr Blatter into a U-turn over his belief that video technology should not be used in even the biggest matches.