FIFA referee Jonas Eriksson reacted on England's controversial penalty incident

England's controversial penalty incident in the match against the Netherlands at Euro 2024 has attracted the attention of several groups. Former FIFA referee Jonas Eriksson believes the incident should not have been given.

Gareth Southgate's team managed to qualify for the final for the second time in a row at the Euros after beating the Netherlands 2-1 at Signal Iduna Park on Thursday(11th July). The Netherlands took the lead in the seventh minute through a powerful strike from Xavi Simons, but England had the chance to equalise following a penalty decision by the referee.

The incident occurred when Denzel Dumfries tried to block Harry Kane's shot but was instead penalised for a tackle on the England captain. VAR reviewed the incident and after rewatching the footage on the pitchside monitor, referee Felix Zwayer pointed to the spot. The Dutch players were furious with Zwayer's decision to award England a penalty, but in his post-match analysis, Eriksson gave his opinion.

He said a crucial foul had been missed moments before Dumfries tripped Kane in his attempt to clear. "Here, I'm surprised that they didn't see and cancel the penalty," Eriksson said. "According to the rule book, it's a penalty. In reality, when you have to interpret it, I don't think it should be a penalty." Eriksson, who refereed the 2014 World Cup and the 2013 UEFA Super Cup final for Chelsea and the 2016 Europa League final for Liverpool, said Bukayo Saka handled the ball before the foul that led to the penalty against the Netherlands.

"Before the incident, it was clear the ball had hit the hand and that meant there was no penalty for Kane," added the Swedish referee. Television replays showed that the ball bounced off Saka's hand before falling to Kane's feet before he fired towards the goal, and Eriksson believes VAR should have stepped in to cancel England's penalty.

Despite the controversy, Kane then scored a goal that made England equalise and the match looked set to go into extra time and possibly a penalty shootout. However, Ollie Watkins' low strike in the 90+1 minute ensured victory in the last seconds for the Three Lions, who will face Spain in the final round of Euro 2024.

England will meet Spain in the final of Euro 2024 on Monday(15th July).