Stop lecturing: England faces diving criticism after ‘cheap’ penalty

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England have come under increasing criticism abroad for the overtime penalty for fouling Raheem Sterling which earned them a 2-1 win over Denmark in the Euro 2020 semi-final.

As England partied late into the night after winning a first major final since 1966, it took unprecedented criticism for the controversial call.

A range of media and football figures joined with Danish fans in condemning the penalty as too cheap for such a big game, with some saying England’s haughty views on the dive seemed hypocritical given the fall of Sterling at the slightest touch.

“They always say how bad it is when a foreign player tries to deceive the referee with a dive. In pure English football that doesn’t happen. Other than, of course, in the semi-finals of the Premier League. ‘Europe,’ Spanish newspaper Marca said.

“It would be nice if English football stopped lecturing the rest of the continent on diving.”

The quick and deviant Sterling, who has previously been accused of diving in the English Premier League, slipped into the box after minimal contact from Dane Joakim Maehle.

Dutch referee Danny Makkelie pointed out the spot and confirmed it after briefly consulting the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), but without examining the movement on the pitch side monitor.

Harry Kane’s penalty was saved by Kasper Schmeichel but the captain followed to score and give England the victory.

“Far too cheap”

“It was a soft penalty for me … too cheap a penalty for a Euro semi-final,” former referee Jonas Eriksson, who officiated at Euro 2012 and 2016, said on the Swedish channel SVT.

“I’m mostly surprised and annoyed that the VAR doesn’t tell the referee. It decides which team will pass.”

Sterling himself said after the game that it was a clear penalty with his leg cut off. But former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who is now the head of world football development for FIFA, the international governing body, was among those in doubt.

“In a moment like this, it’s important that the referee is absolutely convinced that this was a penalty. It wasn’t clear enough to say ‘yes, that’s true.’ He would have had to at least take a look at the screen, “he said on Qatari channel beIN Sports.

Roma coach Jose Mourinho went further, telling Talksport radio “For me it’s never a penalty”, even though he said the best team won and he was happy for England.

Denmark could also have felt aggrieved that a second ball was on the pitch when Sterling entered the zone, which according to regulations could have resulted in play being stopped.

Adding insult to injury, a fan pointed a laser pen at Schmeichel as he prepared to face Kane’s penalty.

“They won with a penalty which was a blatant dive,” exulted former German player and expert Dietmar Hamann. “England still prides itself on being the home of fair play and the diving ban.”

Elsewhere, French newspaper L’Equipe said England only broke through the Danish defense with “a questionable, especially generous penalty”, while in Italy, England’s opponents in the final of Sunday Gazzetta dello Sport said: “It’s a shame they’re getting these little bits of help because they don’t need them.”

“It’s diving at home,” tweeted Italian journalist Tancredi Palmeri in a sarcastic reference to the English football anthem “It’s coming home”.

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