Harry Kane was left aggrieved after the referee waved away appeals of a foul on the England captain in the build-up to Norway’s shock opener in their World Cup quarter-final.
England, who had dominated possession for the majority of the first half, fell behind in the 36th minute as Andreas Schjelderup fired in off the post from out wide, scoring an effort which looked like it was meant as a cross.
But in the moments leading up to the goal, Kane felt he was illegally dispossessed by Norway midfielder Patrick Berg, who came through the back of the Three Lions striker.
Kane was left holding his ankle as Norway burst towards the England box and found the back of the net, with the 32-year-old voicing his appeals to referee Clement Turpin in the hope of seeing the Scandinavian side’s strike chalked off.
However, there was no obvious VAR review and Turpin swiftly indicated that the goal would stand, calling for the game to get back underway.
Argentina saw VAR controversially rule in their favour for a foul significantly far back in the build-up to Egypt’s second goal in their last-16 clash – a decision that proved pivotal as the holders went on to win 3-2 – so England may have felt hard done by not to experience similar fortune.
But ITV refereeing expert Christina Unkel was not of that belief, asserting that the right decision was made.
“We can see very clearly, the Norway player was able to tip the ball, no contact to Kane’s ankle, so there’s no foul like in the Argentina vs Egypt game, a clear change of possession without a foul,” Unkel said.
This view was echoed by Gary Neville, who added: “It’s not a free-kick, absolutely not.”
England went on to find an equaliser through Jude Bellingham late in the first half before Kane thought he had snatched another moments after, only to see the officials thwart him again as the linesman raised his flag for offside – a decision that was confirmed as correct.
