Habitual to conceding early in UEFA Euro knockouts, England was never quick to fire back. But the semi-final against the Netherlands was an outlier. Thanks to a VAR-decided penalty kick, skipper Harry Kane put England back in the game in the 18th minute. However, the soccer world is currently divided over the refereeing entourage’s decision to grant the Three Lions a penalty.

This is because the Dutch side’s Denzel Dumfries’s contact on Kane came during the follow-through to his attempt that went awry. In a surprising turn, a former England legend himself has questioned the VAR decision to grant the spot kick. Former England and Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher thinks Harry Kane was wrongly given a penalty to equalize against the Dutch. Not holding his horses, the player-turned-pundit, Carragher, took to X and wrote, “Never a penalty.” 

While Dumfries’ studs did hit Harry Kane and sent him down during the clash, the contact came seconds after the Englishman’s attempt went just above the bar. Hence, the pundit in Carragher had to overlook his loyalty to England and call out the German official Felix Zwayer.

Notably, Carragher is not the only former Englishman to raise eyebrows over the controversial VAR call. Speaking on ITV, ex-English defender Gary Neville branded the penalty decision a “disgrace.” Similarly, former England right-back Lee Dixon said before the VAR decision that he would be “astonished” if the referees granted a penalty in the Three Lions’ favor.

Former American referee Christina Unkel also sided against the VAR referee Bastian Dankert for his controversial call. Anyhow, it is what is and Kane put himself on the scoresheet. Now, we have the possible explanation behind the controversial VAR decision that favored the English and hurt the Dutch.

Harry Kane penalty analysis as Dumfries gets booked!

In soccer, referees seldom grant a penalty to a player if the rival defender catches him after he completes a shot on goal. Meanwhile, such a contact is a foul, when committed anywhere else on the field. Anyhow, Denzel Dumfries took the heat for his foul against Harry Kane because he approached the English star, leading with his studs, instead of trying to kick through the ball.

Had Dumfries resorted to the second approach, he would have been off the hook. But any contact with studs is deemed reckless and dangerous and immediately calls for a penalty kick.

Bastian Dankert, who took the debated penalty call, oversaw nine games in this Euro as a VAR official- the most by any in the tournament. Hence, he has surely built a reputation throughout the tournament. But now, with soccer legends and seasoned analysts disagreeing with Dankert, his reputation might come under scrutiny in the coming days.

Share your thoughts on the game-changing yet controversial VAR call in the comments below.