England defender Jarell Quansah was sent off during the second half of a wild last-16 contest with Mexico at the Estadio Azteca.
England were leading 2-1, thanks to a Jude Bellingham double in the first half, when Quansah made a sliding tackle on Mexico’s Jesus Gallardo.
The referee, Alireza Faghani, let play go on but Gallardo lay injured as the Mexican staff and substitutes fumed on the touchline near the incident.
And when the video assistant referee called Faghani to review the footage on his pitch-side monitor, England feared the worst.
The Australian-Iranian referee showed Quansah a straight red card for violent conduct, after replays showed the right-back had slid over the top of the ball and put studs on to the leg of Gallardo in a dangerous manner.
ITV’s ex-official Darren Cann concluded: “It’s a clear red card. Quansah plays the ball first, but that doesn’t matter in the laws of the game. You can clearly see the studs on the shin. He has no choice but to give a red card. It’s 100 per cent a red card.”
England manager Thomas Tuchel replaced Bukayo Saka with John Stones to firm up England’s defence, and moments later they scored a third goal when Harry Kane converted from the penalty spot. But Mexico responded with a penalty of their own through Raul Jimenez to make it 3-2.
