England defeated the Netherlands 2-1 to reach the 2024 European Championship. However, the game was not without a controversial moment.
Harry Kane equalised from the penalty spot after Xavi Simons had opened the scoring, but the decision to award the spot kick has been described as ‘harsh’.
Just minutes after Xavi Simons put Netherland in front, the referee pointed to the spot after a collision between Kane and Inter Milan wing-back Denzel Dumfries. There was a coming together between the two players after the England forward blasted a volley over the crossbar.
Despite not calling for a penalty, after being advised to review the incident on the pitch-side monitor by VAR, Felix Zwayer reversed his earlier call and pointed to the spot.
Kane scored from the spot and the reason why the penalty stood has been revealed.
ESPN’s Dale Johnson gave his analysis of the decision to award the penalty. He commented:
“It’s a very harsh intervention by the VAR, Bastian Dankert. He has taken the nature of Dumfries’ challenge, leading with the studs as opposed to making an attempt to kick through the ball, as being reckless — which is why the Netherlands’ player was booked. And that’s the one area where a defender catching an attacker after a shot can be seen as a penalty — when it’s reckless or dangerous.”
England will be looking to win the European tournament when they face Spain in the final. Aston Villa forward Ollie Watkins rifled a low effort into the far corner in the 90th minute to seal his side’s progression to the final.
