England’s dramatic 2-1 victory over DR Congo in the FIFA World Cup Round of 32 was marked by a major refereeing controversy after Harry Kane’s penalty appeal was turned down. While the England captain believed he had been fouled inside the box, both the on-field referee and VAR ruled otherwise, triggering widespread debate.
Kane’s penalty appeal turned down
The incident occurred with England trailing 1-0 in the first half. Kane chased a through ball into the penalty area before DR Congo goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi rushed off his line to challenge him. The England captain went to ground after the pair made contact and immediately appealed for a penalty.
Also Read । Brazil suffer major World Cup injury blow as Lucas Paqueta faces race against time
Referee Adham Makhadmeh waved away the appeals, signalling that no foul had been committed. VAR reviewed the incident but decided there was no clear and obvious error, meaning the referee was not asked to conduct an on-field review and play continued.
England didn’t get a penalty for handball? #congo #congokinshasa #england #penalty #worldcup2026 pic.twitter.com/63ton3WtoC— Referee Channel (@RefereeC21621) July 1, 2026
The decision quickly became one of the biggest talking points of the match, with fans and experts split over whether England had been denied a legitimate penalty.
Experts divided as England complete comeback
Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey believed England should have been awarded a penalty, arguing that Mpasi made sufficient contact with Kane and that VAR should have intervened.
However, former England captain Wayne Rooney disagreed, saying Kane appeared to go down too easily and suggesting the referee had made the correct decision. Several television pundits echoed that view, insisting there was not enough evidence to overturn the on-field call.
Also Read । Why are players getting red cards for covering their mouths at the FIFA World Cup 2026?
England ensured the controversy did not affect the result. Kane equalised with a powerful header in the second half before scoring the winner with a superb long-range strike to complete a 2-1 comeback.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic: “I’m going to block Alexi (Lalas) because he has no clue what he’s talking about.”
After he claimed this should have been awarded a penalty for England 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/DgZnuY26Sm— Banter FC (@TheFCBanter) July 1, 2026
The victory secured England’s place in the Round of 16, where they will face Mexico. Although the penalty decision is likely to remain a talking point, Thomas Tuchel’s side ultimately left the field with the result they wanted, thanks to another match-winning display from their captain.
