Kevin Doyle believes there was little Raheem Sterling could do but fall to the ground against Denmark.
Gareth Southgate's side were awarded a controversial penalty in extra-time when the Manchester City star went down in the Danish box.
Harry Kane's spot-kick was saved by Kasper Schmeichel, but the Spurs forward scored from the rebound.
Denmark boss Kasper Hjulmand said he was bitter over the decision after the game, but former Ireland striker Doyle insists it was impossible for Sterling to stay on his feet.
He tweeted: "Sterling's right knee gets clipped followed by a hip barge from the other side….how is that “not touched”? Try staying on your feet while sprinting with a ball and that happens."
Meanwhile, Sterling has been hailed as the player of the tournament by former his England team-mate Theo Walcott.
The current Southampton winger, who played 47 times for the Three Lions, told talkSPORT: “With the Italians’ older guys, he is going to cause them havoc so if we can try to isolate Raheem with any of those guys, they are going to have a real difficult evening and I just feel we are so fit.
“You could see at the end, the way Raheem just glided past players like it was the first minute. It shows we are doing something right behind the scenes – the fitness guys.
“My son goes to the same class as Raheem’s and he is always saying Raheem’s dad scored again. Honestly it is so nice that he has proved so many people wrong.
“He is a fantastic player, a fantastic man and he deserves everything he is getting. For me, player of the tournament without a shadow of doubt.”
Unsurprisingly Sterling defended the penalty decision in his favour, saying: “I went into the box and he stuck his right leg out, and it touched my leg so it was a clear penalty.”
