A fuming Ronald Koeman claimed that "football is getting destroyed" after England were handed a controversial penalty against the Netherlands.
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Article continues below
Article continues below
- England got lucky with VAR
- Were handed a fortuitous penalty
- Koeman slammed the technology
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WHAT HAPPENED?
The Netherlands struck first in the semi-final clash held in Dortmund with Xavi Simons opening the scoring in the seventh minute. However, controversy followed in the 18th minute when Dutch defender Denzel Dumfries was adjudged to have fouled Harry Kane in the penalty area. After a VAR review, referee Felix Zwayer awarded England a penalty, which Kane successfully converted to bring the score to 1-1.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
Not only did the call seem harsh, but VAR had also missed a Bukayo Saka handball in the build-up – which if they had spotted would have quelled any opportunity of a potential penalty. Unsurprisingly, Koeman was upset with the officiating and blasted the officials after the match in a press conference.
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WHAT KOEMAN SAID
"This is not a penalty," Koeman insisted. "His only intention was to block a shot. Harry Kane then shoots and their feet collide. Football is getting destroyed by these types of decisions by VAR. This penalty would not have been given in England. What should you do as a defender? I thought the referee whistled for a lot of silly things, but that's not why we lost."
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DID YOU KNOW?
The Dutch team had navigated a challenging path to reach the semi-finals, overcoming Romania and Turkey in the knockout stages after finishing third in their group. Koeman expressed pride in his team's performance and optimism for their future.
"There is a lot of future in this team," he said. "In general, I am very proud. I like how they gave something in every game. We started well, but England got on top in midfield and we had to change things. I thought we then were the better team, but they scored a killer goal in the 91st minute and there is no way to respond to that."
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