Olivier Giroud hits back after being accused of 'pretending not to speak English' to avoid shirt swap

Olivier Giroud has delivered a cracking response to claims that he "pretended to not speak English" before snubbing a shirt swap.

On the evening of November 22, Australia forward Jason Cummings was on the hunt for a shirt swap after their Group D clash against then-reigning champions France in Al Wakrah.

Despite taking an early lead, the Socceroos ended up losing the game 4-1, with Giroud bagging a double to become France's all-time top goalscorer, overtaking Thierry Henry in the process.

That being said, Cummings only had eyes for Kylian Mbappe's shirt at full-time, so after the game, he tried to make it happen.

So what happened next? Well, I'll let the man himself explain.

“After the France game, I actually tried to get Mbappe – forget Giroud, I went for the top boy Mbappe – and he told me to meet him in the change rooms,” Cummings said on The Project.

“So I went to the changing room and the kit man was there and I gave him my top and 10 minutes later he came out with my jersey and says: ‘Nah, absolutely not, (Mbappe) doesn’t want to swap’.

“So when I was walking back to my changing room and I’ve seen Giroud and I’m walking, as handsome as ever, and I asked him, ‘Giroud, please man, can I get your shirt man? I’m a big fan, can I get your shirt?’

“And he just walked past me, pretended he never spoke English! And he’s been in the Premier League for 10 years! He just walked right past me!”

Rather unsurprisingly, those comments soon went viral. But a few days later, former Arsenal and Chelsea striker Giroud has responded to those claims with a low blow.

It actually turns out Giroud swapped shirts with Australia midfielder Jackson Irvine, who currently plays for German second division side FC St. Pauli following spells at Celtic, Kilmarnock and Ross County.

In fact, he took to Twitter on Thursday to respond to Cummings' comments about him pretending to not speak English.

The Frenchman wrote: "Hi @jacksonirvine. How is my english mate?" followed by a number of laughing face emojis.

Cummings' was clearly hurt by the exchange with Giroud but then again, he can always look back at meeting soon-to-be world champion Lionel Messi with fond memories.

The 27-year-old even sent a message of support to Messi ahead of the World Cup final between Argentina and France.

“Do the basics right Leo,” his Instagram message read. “Don’t play the occasion, play the game. All the best, Cumdog.”

When asked about this on The Project, the Australian said he should be getting some credit for helping Argentina on their journey.

“I think I deserve a lot of credit– he’s definitely checked his phone just before, he’s seen the Cumdog pop up on his Instagram there,” Cummings joked.

“He’s checked that and it just gave him that extra motivation.”

Thoughts on Giroud's response?

Let us know in the comments.