England are into a first major tournament final for 55 years but their Euro 2020 victory over Denmark at Wembley was not without major controversy as winger Raheem Sterling was accused of ‘diving’ by fans – expectedly those of Demark.
England edged out a resilient Denmark 2-1 after extra time in front of a raucous home crowd in London to set up a final with Italy at the same venue on Sunday, but some fans were left fuming at the nature of the Three Lions victory.
Mikkel Damsgaard gave Denmark the lead with a superb free-kick after 30 minutes, before an own goal from Danish skipper Simon Kjaer ensured the teams went in level at the break.
Neither side found the breakthrough in normal time, but it was England who put themselves in front in extra time when Harry Kane scored from the rebound when his penalty had been saved by Kasper Schmeichel.
The circumstances of the spot kick were hugely contentious however, as Sterling weaved his way down the right wing before going down under apparent contact from Joakim Maehle and with Mathias Jensen also in close quarters.
The VAR backed the initial decision from Dutch referee Danny Makkelie and England were presented with the chance from which Kane ultimately scored.
But online, fans were accused Sterling of carrying out a blatant “robbery” by allegedly diving to win the spot kick.
