The European football public believes that Raheem Sterling faked a fall in the penalty area to force a penalty for England in extra time of the EURO semi-final match against Denmark, after which England scored the winning goal to reach the final.
"Marka" was the harshest in the assessment.
"The English always say how bad it is that foreigners in their football try to deceive the referees by falling in the penalty area. In pure English football, this does not happen. Except, of course, in the semi-finals of the European Championship. It would be nice if the English would stop giving lessons to the rest of the continent in connection with simulation," writes "Marka".
The former German national team member Dietmar Hamann, who spent a good part of his playing career in England, is on the same track.
"The English won from a penalty awarded after obvious simulation. England has always prided itself on being the home of fair play, not simulation," Haman believes.
Former Swedish referee Jonas Eriksson, who refereed at EURO 2012 and 2016, said:
"This was a soft penalty... the semi-final of the EURO should not have been decided that way. I am most surprised and angry that the VAR did not make an announcement".
The former longtime manager of Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, and the current coach of Roma, Jose Mourinho, agreed that the penalty should not have been awarded.
"In such moments, the referee must be absolutely sure that it is a penalty, but the situation was not clear. He had to at least look at the situation on the screen," said Wenger, who is currently the head of FIFA's department for global football development.
The French sports daily "L'ekip" calls the awarded penalty "questionable, to say the least generous", while the Italian Gazzetta dello Sport states that "it's a pity that England gets the referee's help because they are so good that they don't need it".
Bonus video:
