England supporters felt their side were wrongly denied a penalty during the first half of the World Cup quarter final vs France.
Gareth Southgate’s side, looking to reach the last four for the third straight major tournament, suffered an early blow when Aurelien Tchouameni fired Les Bleus in front. The Real Madrid superstar’s thunderous strike from distance came after England’s players felt Bukayo Saka had been fouled in the build-up.
However, the goal was allowed to stand with the Three Lions falling behind for the first time in the tournament. They were looking for a quick response when Harry Kane turned Dayot Upamecano but saw his shot saved by Hugo Lloris.
Minutes later, it was the same two players involved as the Tottenham striker got the better of Upamecano again. On this occasion, the Bayern Munich defender was forced to bring down the England skipper.
On field referee Wilton Sampaio waved away the protests, but there was a nervy wait for the France stars as the decision was referred to VAR. Replays showed there was clear contact on Kane’s calf, with the only debate over whether it was inside or outside of the box.
Former Premier League referee-turned pundit Peter Walton felt England had a serious case for a spot-kick and predicted the referee would be told to geta second look at the incident.
“Well it’s clear to me that the contact that has been made with Kane’s calf is on the line, the line is part of that penalty area,” Walton said on ITV Sport. “The Brazilian referee ought to be afforded the luxury to look at this again. I think this is a foul.”
However, almost immediately after his verdict, Sampaio ordered France to resume the game, confirming VAR had upheld his original decision. Fans on social media were quick to react to the controversial decision, with the majority believing the Three Lions were hard done by.
Sky Sports legend Chris Kamara posted on social media: “Penalty all day long…What’s going on!” And BBC Match of the Day host Gary Lineker added: "One of these days, just once, we might get a decision in our favour."
TV personality Danny Baker said: “That was a foul 100%. Had it been against us I'd have said it was a penalty all day long. VAR is as redundant as it has been since day one. Keep the faith everyone. France are not THAT good.”
Another fan tweeted: “That’s a penalty all day long,” while another said: “I can’t see how that’s not a foul.”
A third posted: “Are these officials going to give England anything today? Joke!” And a fourth said: “How is this the standard of refereeing at a World Cup quarter-final? Just a total s*** show. Same with Argentina-Holland last night.
The Brazilian official actually worked as a VAR during the 2018 World Cup in Russia and earned plaudits for his performance, impressing FIFA in the process. The tournament in Qatar is his first as a referee however, taking charge of two group stage games and one knockout match, giving out 10 yellow cards in that time.
