Tottenham news: Harry Kane victim of major blunder as VAR lambasted by ex-Premier League referee
England should have been awarded for Dayot Upamecano’s challenge on Tottenham striker Harry Kane in their 2-1 loss to France in the World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday (10 December).
That is the view of ex-Fifa and Premier League referee Keith Hackett, speaking exclusively to Football Insider after the officials made a major blunder in Qatar.
Kane was brought down on the edge of the France penalty area in the opening stages while there was some argument as to whether he was in the box.
The referee did not even award a free-kick and VAR felt he had not made a clear and obvious error.
“First of all, this is a foul,” Hackett said after analysing the footage with Football Insider‘s Connor Whitley.
“Harry Kane has been brought down by a foul challenge from behind.
“Now we get onto, is it a penalty or is it not a penalty?
“I’ve seen the arguments and heard the arguments and, in a way, they are all justified.
“But they are all looking at where the feet are positioned, slightly outside the penalty area, and not where the actual contact took place.
“Kane was leaning forward, the challenge was just below the knee of Kane and the knee was forward of the foot. For me, that’s enough to say it’s a penalty kick.
“I think they’ve gone on the position of the feet rather than the position of the offence.
“This is what we get with the shoulder and offsides. The feet can be onside but the shoulder is offside because you can score with your shoulder. It’s the same principle.
“For me, I think he got that wrong. Generally, I would have liked the VAR to have let the referee make that decision and just take a look at it.
“He would have seen the foul and then it was his judgement whether it was in or outside the penalty area.
“What’s interesting is that when we’ve seen other incidents in this World Cup, Fifa have come up with a photograph of the animation for offside or a photograph of where a ball is out of play. We’re still waiting for the photograph to show whether this was in or out.”
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