All eyes are on England this evening as they face Northern Ireland in Group A of the UEFA Women's Euros. Despite Northern Ireland already being knocked out of the tournament, they weren't going home without a fight against England at St Mary's in Southampton.
The Lionesses were without their manager Sarah Wiegman tonight after she tested positive for Covid. So far, the Lionesses have secured the top spot in Group A with a 1-0 defeat of Austria at Old Trafford and an 8-0 win over Norway in Brighton.
Friday's match got off to a punchy start from the Lionesses who ploughed forward after a strong kick-off. And just six minutes in the referee had awarded a penalty to England after Georgia Stanway’s shot ricocheted immediately off of Laura Rafferty’s arm, as it was really tight to her body. The decision went to a VAR check as Northern Ireland also thought that the ball hit also hit England's Beth Mead’s arm in the build up.
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After what was seemingly a lengthy delay while officials checked the VAR - the referee went over to the monitor and reversed her decision. No penalty was awarded to England in this case.
Fans took to Twitter to share their frustration over how long the VAR check took, while many agreed it was the right decision to overturn the penalty. It took around three minutes for the referee to re-evaluate the footage.
@Adzillicus commented: "How is this VAR check taking so long? Never a penalty."
@rees_julian After a lengthy delay, the referee goes over to the monitor and correctly reverses her decision. No penalty.
@geoffl65 added: "Never ever a penalty #Lionesses."
@scostiblue agreed: "NO PENALTY. CORRECT BUT TOOK LONGER THAN NECESSARY."
"One replay showed it hit Beth's hand first and Laura's arm wasn't out. Why has it taken half an hour to work out that wasn't a penalty? #WEURO2022," @RobNorwood6.
While VAR check is a controversial part of the game, it does allow decisions to be reconsidered. "Love or hate VAR, it was the right decision to overturn the penalty #WEURO2022," said @matt_johnson_89.
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