5 months ago
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ITV were forced to censor Ronald Koeman’s post-match interview after Holland were beaten by England.
The Dutch manager was left fuming at German referee Felix Zwayer after he awarded the Three Lions a controversial penalty.
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GettyXavi Simons had put Holland in the lead in the Euro 2024 semi-final at the Signal Iduna Park with a stunning effort early on.
The lead was wiped out as captain Harry Kane netted from the spot just 11 minutes later.
However, there was much debate about the penalty as Kane was caught by Denzel Dumfries while taking a shot.
Zwayer had initially turned down penalty appeals before being sent to the monitor to have another look by VAR.
After a couple of viewings he decided to change his mind and give England the penalty – despite experts unanimously agreeing it should not be a spot kick.
It proved crucial to the result as Gareth Southgate‘s side would go on to win the match after Ollie Watkins‘ 90th-minute winner.
Koeman, spoke to the press after the match and was not happy with the officiating over the decision.
While speaking to ITV, the former Everton manager labelled the decision as “s**t”.
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He said: “I don’t agree with the final decision.
“What do you need to do as a defender? Somebody is kicking the ball in the box you like to defend the shot.
England's controversial penalty
By Mark Halsey
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.
The German official, previously banned for six months for his part in a match-fixing scandal, should not have been sent to the pitchside monitor by VAR Bastian Dankert.
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.
Aside from the penalty award, Zwayer had a good game.
There were fears decisions would go against England because of Jude Bellingham’s previous comments about Zwayer.
Bellingham was fined £34,000 in 2021 for blaming Zwayer and his match-fixing past for Borussia Dortmund’s 3-2 defeat to Bayern Munich.
But Zwayer was right to caution Bellingham for his reckless challenge on Stefan de Vrij in the second half.
“And maybe you touch a little bit his foot but come on, if we whistle definite penalty then I don’t agree.
“In my opinion it is a s**t decision.”
ITV had to bleep the expletive used by the manager.
Dutch captain and Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk also agreed with his manager as he insisted it was “difficult to take”.
Former England star Gary Neville labelled the decision as a “disgrace” while giving his analysis.
The Three Lions will face Spain in the Euro 2024 final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on Sunday.
The Spanish reached the last two with a 2-1 win over France in the first semi-final.
A supercomputer has predicted heartache for England once again and has given Spain a 54 per cent chance of winning.
England vs Spain record
England have played Spain 27 times in total - here is a look at every result...
- May 1929, Spain 4-3 England – International Friendly (L)
- December 1931, England 7-1 Spain – International Friendly (W)
- July 1950, Spain 1-0 England – World Cup (L)
- May 1955, Spain 1-1 England – International Friendly (D)
- November 1955, England 4-1 Spain – International Friendly (W)
- May 1960, Spain 3-0 England – International Friendly (L)
- October 1960, England 4-2 Spain – International Friendly (W)
- December 1965, Spain 0-2 England – International Friendly (W)
- May 1967, England 2-0 Spain – International Friendly (W)
- April 1968, England 1-0 Spain – European Championship (W)
- May 1968, Spain 1-2 England – European Championship (W)
- March 1980, Spain 0-2 England – International Friendly (W)
- June 1980, England 2-1 Spain – European Championship (W)
- March 1981, England 1-2 Spain – International Friendly (L)
- July 1982, Spain 0-0 England – World Cup (D)
- February 1987, Spain 2-4 England – International Friendly (W)
- September 1992, Spain 1-0 England – International Friendly (L)
- June 1996, England 0(4)-(2)0 Spain – European Championship (W)
- February 2001, England 3-0 Spain – International Friendly (W)
- November 2004, Spain 1-0 England – International Friendly (L)
- February 2007, England 0-1 Spain – International Friendly (L)
- February 2009, Spain 2-0 England – International Friendly (L)
- November 2011, England 1-0 Spain – International Friendly (W)
- November 2015, Spain 2-0 England – International Friendly (L)
- November 2016, England 2-2 Spain – International Friendly (D)
- September 2018, England 1-2 Spain – Nations League (L)
- October 2018, Spain 2-3 England – Nations League (W)
Overall, England have won 14, drawn three and lost 10 matches against Spain.
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