England told they were ‘given a gift’ with Harry Kane penalty by ex-Premier League referee

England were awarded a controversial penalty in their Euro 2024 semi-final against the Netherlands following Denzel Dumfries’ foul on captain Harry Kane and the decision hasn’t gone down well

England should NOT have been given a penalty against the Netherlands, ex-Premier League official Mark Halsey has claimed.

The Three Lions were awarded a controversial spot-kick on Dortmund on Wednesday. Referee Felix Zwayer did not give it after Harry Kane and Denzel Dumfries clashed.

But VAR intervened, leading to a rethink from the German official. Kane duly dispatched his spot-kick to level the game after Xavi Simons’ scintillating opener. But the decision has garnered severe criticism, including from former Premier League official Halsey. He suggests that Zwayer’s original decision should have remained.

Writing in a column for the The Sun, he said: “Harry Kane was gifted a penalty by controversial referee Felix Zwayer. If England had been on the receiving end of that decision, we would have been absolutely fuming.

“Both Denzel Dumfries and Kane had their feet in the air as England’s captain got his shot away. It was just a clash of legs and certainly NOT a ‘clear and obvious error’.

“Once Zwayer went over to the monitor, we knew what was going to happen. He is an excellent referee but we have seen that none of the officials seem mentally tough enough to stick with their original call.

“I know some people will argue Dumfries was late to the tackle and it would have been a free-kick elsewhere on the pitch. But it is a contact sport and it’s natural that there will be a coming together in instances like that.”

Felix Zwayer awarded England a penalty after a VAR check ( 
Image:
Getty Images)
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Halsey was not the only former official to criticise the decision. FIFA referee Jonas Eriksson, who officiated at the 2014 World Cup, claimed that the penalty should have been struck off due to a handball by Bukayo Saka earlier in the move.

He said: “Here, I am surprised that they don’t go and look and overturn the penalty. According to the rulebook, it is a penalty.

“In reality, when you have to interpret it, I don’t think it should be a punishment. It is a clear hand [from Saka] and it means that no penalty should be awarded to Kane.”

The decision also triggered fury from the Dutch camp. Ronald Koeman, Virgil van Dijk and Dumfries were among those to claim that it should not have been a penalty.

Ex-Netherlands international suggested Zwayer be ‘blacklisted’ for his decision. Intriguingly, there was also criticism from an England standpoint – Gary Neville labelling the penalty as a “disgrace”.

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