Harry Kane was denied a penalty against DR Congo in the closing stages of the first half after he went down inside the box following contact with Lionel Mpasi. England were trailing 1-0 when the referee waved away the appeals and VAR left the decision alone.
Shearer Sees Contact
The incident came just before half-time, when England were already chasing the game after Yoane Wissa had hit the post and the move swung back the other way. Kane’s appeal ended there, with no spot kick and no yellow card for simulation.
Alan Shearer took the clearest view on the call: "There is contact, there is no doubt. For me that is a penalty. Kane may have made the most of it but the keeper has come out and his hands are there. If he is going to come rushing out like that with his hands as a forward you have every right to make connection and go down," he said on One. Paul Robinson was just as direct on Radio 5 Live: "Wow. They have got that wrong. They have got that so wrong. That's not just me being patriotic, that is a penalty. The contact is there."
Rooney Sees Dive
Wayne Rooney split from that view. He said: "I'm all for the forwards, but I think Harry Kane trips himself a bit and jumps into the goalkeeper a little bit... I think it looks like he has dived into him, so it probably isn't a penalty." The split mattered because it left England’s biggest chance of the half wrapped in disagreement rather than in a clear decision.
That is the practical problem for England and Harry Kane: the referee’s call stood, the replay check did not change it, and the team had to go back out still down 1-0. For supporters trying to judge the incident, the frame is simple. Kane went down after contact with Lionel Mpasi, the officials said no, and the debate over whether that was a foul or a dive stayed unresolved inside the half.
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