The position of the Dutch captain and his coach was supported by high-profile English experts
Captain Netherlands national team Virgil van Dijk commented on what he considered to be the key episode of the semi-final match Euro 2024 against England (1:2).
“I think the penalty was a big moment, England gained confidence from it. I think a lot of decisions were made against us, but I don’t want to talk about the referee.”
Recall that the head coach of the Orange, Ronald Koeman, also criticized the penalty episode, saying that with such decisions “VAR is ruining football.”
Gary Neville, the former England defender and ITV commentator, has spoken out in support of Van Dijk and his coach:
“As a defender, I think it’s an absolutely disgraceful decision. There’s no way it was a penalty. He just went for it to block it. For me, it’s not a penalty.”
Former Three Lions striker Alan Shearer also commented on the controversial episode:
“There is no doubt that there is contact, but the defender [Думфрис] tries to block the ball. Harry Kane’s subsequent shot makes contact and I don’t think the decision was wrong enough to be reviewed.”
Let’s recall the gist of it. In the 18th minute of the match, with the score 1:0 in Oranje’s favor, Harry Kane and Denzel Dumfries were going for the ball together in the Netherlands penalty area. The striker got to the ball a split second earlier. The defender’s kick hit him in the leg. The referee of the match, Felix Zwayer, did not react to the incident at first, but VAR advised him to watch the replay, and then the referee changed his decision, awarding a penalty.
Kane himself equalised and as extra time approached, Gareth Southgate’s substitutions came into play: Ollie Watkins took advantage of Cole Palmer’s pass to send the Three Lions into their second successive European Championship final.
In the final, England will play Spain, which defeated France (2:1) the day before. The decisive match of the 2024 European Championship will be held on July 14 at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. The starting whistle will sound at 22:00 Kyiv time.
Source: Sportarena
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
