Didi Hamann makes valuable point as England fans fume at refereeing decisions

Some questionable decisions, but the penalty call (or lack thereof) was the biggest.

England fans were left raging over some of the decisions made in the first half of their World Cup quarter final against France. Didi Hamann and Stephen Kelly felt there were some legitimate grievances. Gareth Southgate's side went in 1-0 down at the break as Aurélien Tchouaméni's long range effort put the reigning champions ahead. But England fans were left less than impressed with some of the decisions made by Wilton Sampaio as he turned down shouts for a foul on Bukayo Saka moments before the goal as well as a potential penalty for a foul on Harry Kane. https://twitter.com/RTEsoccer/status/1601660232362754048

Didi Hamann on non penalty call

While Lee Dixon raged about the penalty not being awarded, on ITV's coverage, the RTÉ pundits, Didi Hamann and Stephen Kelly were sympathetic but skeptical that it was a certainty. Hamann said he initially dismissed the England penalty call, but closer viewing had him not so sure. "We can't tell for sure, from the angles and replays we have seen, that it was a definite penalty, but it looks very close," the former Germany international said. Over on social media, England supporters were seething. One fan wrote: "The referee when England gets obviously fouled." https://twitter.com/gabbytweets20/status/1601659396563800064 A second tweeted: "The referees missing that obvious penalty on Harry Kane in the France-England game:" https://twitter.com/byysports/status/1601659595398619136 A third said: "At this point it’s not even england v france just england v the fucking referee." https://twitter.com/beewoodd/status/1601661822708649984 Another tweeted: "It’s not even fun to watch this match like i hoped … it’s not even England v France because that dumb referee is ruining this game." https://twitter.com/jbstete/status/1601664629502926848 Those that were cribbing were happy out, we expect, when a penalty was awarded, on 53 minutes, for a foul on Bukhayo Saka that was duly dispatched by Harry Kane. https://twitter.com/RTEsoccer/status/1601671762609045512 The winner of the game will go on to play Morocco in the semi final after their historic win against Portugal to become the first African nation to reach the semi finals of a World Cup. Related articles:

• Lionel Messi appears to instigate touch-line row with Louis Van Gaal after shoot-out
• World Cup 2022 Day 20: All the major action and talking points
• World Cup Power Rankings: The top 10 players at the tournament ahead of the quarter-finals

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