England fans have same question after Harry Kane is denied penalty
England are playing France this evening in the quarter-finals of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, and the opening half has already produced some controversy.
France took the lead in the 17th minute after a wonder goal from Aurélien Tchouaméni - though there were questions about a potential foul on Buyako Saka in the buildup.
Anyway, that wasn't all, as Harry Kane was thought to have been brought down in the penalty area in the 24th minute by the French defender.
The referee did not give the decision - but as well all know with modern football - there is VAR or video assistant referee.
Advert
ITV commentator Lee Dixon was convinced it was a penalty, as were many England fans on social media.
But after a lengthy check, the VAR decided not to give the penalty and play resumed.
This had led to many fans taking to social media sites such as Twitter to discuss the point of VAR if they are not going to overrule a decision that seemed blatantly obvious to so many.
The Football Tweet account said: "HOW? HOW IS THIS NOT A PENALTY? WHAT IS THE POINT OF VAR?"
A second person said: "What’s is the point of having VAR? I don’t understand the decisions of the officials sometimes. When the referee misses an important foul in the game, you expect the VAR officials to call his attention to it. This is absolutely ridiculous in a game of small details. That’s a pen."
A third person added: "Bin VAR, if you can’t give that as a pen what’s the f****** point in having it at all."
And a fourth said: "What’s the point of VAR if they don’t pick this up ?!!"
And because the foul was given, some fans are wondering why Harry Kane wasn't booked for simulation.
"If that’s not a pen surely Kane would be booked for diving," one person said.
A second added: "Kane is going to get booked for diving one day."
Callum Jones