England vs Pakistan ended 0-0 on Tuesday night, but the late challenge on Prince Kwabena Adu became the match’s defining incident. Carlo Queiroz said Ghana should have been awarded a penalty after Ezri Konsa appeared to bring him down late in the game.
Prince Kwabena Adu and Carlo Queiroz
Adu charged into the box before Konsa came across and appeared to catch him on the knee. No spot-kick was given, even though replays showed Konsa made no contact with the ball. Queiroz did not hide his reaction after the match.
“I'm not sure VAR is still working in the World Cup. We still have VAR? It's working?” he said. He added: “I have some doubts about that because another penalty that they need give to Ghana, a clear penalty against England [was missed]. They're lucky. They're very lucky.”
Wayne Rooney and Micah Richards
pundits Wayne Rooney and Micah Richards both leaned the same way. Rooney said, “I think that's a penalty,” and added: “Konsa takes a huge risk. His feet are off the floor when he comes flying in and he gets the man, not the ball.” He also said: “That could easily have been given in my view.”
Richards said, “England were chasing the game, they were trying to score the goal but you still need that protection behind you.” He added: “On another day, that could have been a penalty.”
Pierluigi Collina and VAR
The wider backdrop is that Pierluigi Collina wants a higher threshold for challenges on the field and consistency in decision-making at the World Cup. That means fewer VAR interventions when more tackles are allowed to stand on the pitch, which is why the Konsa-Adu incident drew such attention when no review appeared to follow.
Queiroz pushed the point further, calling the incident “It was a clear penalty, red card. You have any doubts about that? You guys who saw the game have any doubts about that or is it only me that was in the game?” He then softened the edge of the criticism with: “I'm sorry for my sarcasm, but if I say these kind of things seriously they punish me, so I hope you understand that I'm joking.”
