Chris Sutton has accused Raheem Sterling of diving to earn England the penalty kick that took them into the final of the European Championships against Italy on Sunday.
After 90 minutes Denmark and England were level at 1-1 but in the first period of extra time the Manchester City winger headed deep into the Danish penalty box.
While there was the usual contact jostling for possession of the ball there was no additional contact to justify Sterling falling to the deck. It was a tactic that England used throughout with Jack Grealish barely able to keep off the ground.
Brilliant result for England tonight and deserved win on balance but if you’re Denmark you’d feel cheated. Sterling dived. Clear and obvious error . VAR should have overturned it and Sterling should have been booked.
BBC606 @5liveSport on now.
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85058 Text— Chris Sutton (@chris_sutton73) July 7, 2021
Dutch referee Danny Makkelie, who also refereed England’s win over Germany in the last 16 bought the dive and pointed to the penalty spot.
The officials seem very reluctant to use VAR at this tournament, Makkelie stood his ground with Harry Kane scoring from the rebound to put England into their first final since the sixties.