
Harry Kane and Ian Wright hit out at 'crazy' decision to deny England a late equaliser in Senegal defeat - as the Three Lions captain insists: 'If you know the rules, it's not handball'
Harry Kane hit out at the decision to deny England a late equaliser against Senegal, claiming 'if you know the rules it's not handball'.
The Three Lions suffered their first-ever defeat to an African side on Tuesday night, going down 3-1 thanks to goals from Ismalia Sarr, Habiba Diarra and a 93rd-minute clincher from Cheikh Sabaly.
However, minutes before Sabaly's strike, England thought they had found an equaliser when Jude Bellingham prodded the ball home from close range following a ricochet in the Senegal area.
The home side believed their blushes were spared and were ready to push for a winner but following a VAR review referee Stephanie Frappart was advised to take a second look at the incident.
She subsequently chalked off the effort even though replays showed that, despite the ball hitting Levi Colwill's arm, it was not intentional nor was he the scorer - conditions that would normally merit cancellation.
Post-match, Kane, who got England off to the perfect start with his 73rd international goal, slammed the decision which he was adamant was incorrect.
'If you know the rules it's not handball,' he told ITV. 'It would have got us back in the game at 2-2 and maybe we would have gone on and won the game so it's quite a big moment.
'But that's something to discuss with them after.'
ITV pundit and former England striker Ian Wright was in agreement with the Three Lions skipper and labelled the call 'pathetic'.
'It's not deliberate though,' argued Wright. 'It's pathetic. He's not even looking. How can you give that? For them to disallow that goal is crazy.'
After the final whistle, Bellingham was seen darting over to the linesman to complain about the disallowed goal, before angrily kicking a drinks cooler. Kane was forced to push him onto the pitch to calm down and congratulate Senegal.
In spite of the peculiar decision, Kane was reluctant to use it as an excuse on a concerning night for the World Cup hopefuls.
Tuchel, who took charge in January on an 18-month contract ending after the next year's tournament, was desperate to see improvement after his side's lacklustre 1-0 win over minnows Andorra on Saturday.
But after making 10 changes to the side, he was left frustrated as England were outsmarted by their opponents.
On whether he is worried about England's performances during the international break, Kane added:'We'll we're not going to panic but for sure, we know that we need to be better.
'There are some ideas that are new for the guys, we have new players coming into the team who don't have experience at the international level.
'It's a mixture of things but there are no excuses. We need to find it quickly, we're not going to meet again for a few months but the World Cup is going to come around very fast so every camp is really important right now.'

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Reuters
37 minutes ago
- Reuters
South Africa's MultiChoice may offer separate SuperSport package from Dstv
JOHANNESBURG, June 12 (Reuters) - South Africa's pay television group MultiChoice may unbundle its sports channels into a separate subscription package, its CEO said on Thursday, a move that might help it retain subscribers. Presenting the group's results a day after reporting a headline loss of 800 million rand ($45 million), CEO Calvo Mawela was asked whether the company was considering separating its sport channels into a separate package. "As part of our product offering, we have always had this project that we ran every year where we look at our packaging structures, similar to what Sky did some years back where they had a basic package, they had a sports package on the side (and) they had a general entertainment package on the side," Mawela said. Through its pay TV, Dstv, MultiChoice offers bundled packages from entry level to premium, which has all the sport channels under its SuperSport brand. But some customers subscribe to the premium package only for sports, often making it expensive to maintain off season, leading to cancellations. "We've accelerated that project in terms of getting us to finalise which direction we're going to take in this financial year. But yes, we are considering all options as part of a broader product offering going forward," Mawela said. The decision to unbundle the sports channels comes as MultiChoice, which is a takeover target of France's Canal+ (CAN.L), opens new tab, lost 1.2 million broadcast subscribers over the year ended March 31, to 14.5 million. It blamed the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, which "has meant that households are struggling to make ends meet and many had no choice but to give up their DStv subscription for the time being." At the same time, the South African market has been affected by the ongoing global shift in video consumption towards cheaper streaming services, social media video and free or pirated video services. ($1 = 17.7674 rand)


Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
England stars show ominous signs that some already not buying into Tuchel era
As they were swanning around the grid ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, having settled into their luxury digs in a Girona golf resort, the England football squad did not look like one that was preparing for business. And, emphatically, that proved to be the case. Never mind the stuff about his mum finding some of Jude Bellingham's antics 'repulsive' - we will come on to that later. The most ill-advised comments from Thomas Tuchel over these past few days were the ones that suggested Senegal were far more motivated than an England team which, according to their manager, also did not have the right attitude in the game against Andorra. Tuchel was right on both counts but the buck stops with him. It is his £100,00-a-week job to inspire his players and, quite frankly, most of them looked distinctly uninterested over the course of the two matches. They had a nice holiday at the Formula One and at the Camiral Golf and Wellness resort but that was about it. If there was any sense of players feeling a need to impress the relatively new manager, it was not evident. There is a strong argument that would suggest their indifference to recent international duty was a product of a long, gruelling season. But there is also an argument that would suggest they are not buying into the Tuchel era. Whatever your view on Gareth Southgate, there was a sense of grander purpose about his role - he was interested in the development of English football, its effect on the well-being of the nation, its broader role in society. Tuchel is here for a handy seven and a half million quid over 18 months and a crack at the World Cup. That's it. In an interview with talkSport that drew headlines for other reasons, he spoke of staying beyond World Cup 2026. There is no chance of that. For a start, he already looks bored and there are already glaring signs that another dalliance with an expensive foreign coach is doomed to disappointment. I bet Tuchel cannot wait for three months to pass - England's next game is against mighty Andorra in September - and the chance to expand on his remarks about his mum having the occasional objection to Jude's tantrums. In those remarks is one of the basic difficulties for an imported England coach. Tuchel is clearly a very intelligent guy and a fine linguist. His command of the English language is excellent and, it goes without saying, puts our society's general lack of multilingual skills to shame. But my guess - and I might well be wrong - is that he did not know the harshness of the word 'repulsive'. He probably just means his mum does not like it when such a nice, smiley boy like Bellingham loses his temper. And that is fair enough. In the course of a long interview, he was trying to be a bit different, a bit amusing. But now he has to explain to, arguably, the best player in his squad why he told the world his mother occasionally finds the young man's behaviour 'repulsive'. I'm not sure Tuchel signed up for this. And during that long interview, there was a more significant revelation from Tuchel as he explained one of the reasons for having Jordan Henderson in his squad. 'He pushes the group, he takes care of training, the attitude. He brings players together.' Call me old-fashioned, but isn't that the job of the manager? It is what Southgate appeared to do quite well. Look, we all know the only thing that matters is how England perform at the World Cup finals next summer, assuming they get there. But there are few signs the latest era of the imported England manager is going to be any more exhilarating than the previous ones. Join our new WhatsApp communityand receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. The FIFA Club World Cup will see 32 of the world's best club teams including Man City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, PSG and Bayern Munich play across 63 games from June 14-July 13. Fans can watch every match live and for free by signing up to DAZN.


The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
New ‘Super Saturday' to mix up Women's Six Nations
The Guinness Women's Six Nations will introduce a 'Super Saturday' format in 2026, featuring back-to-back matches on a single day in each round to enhance fan experience and global viewership. England, the reigning champions, will begin their title defence against Ireland on Saturday, April 11 at Allianz Stadium Twickenham, marking the start of the revamped tournament. France will host Italy in the opening match on the same day, followed by Scotland 's travel to Wales, setting the stage for a series of competitive games. The competition will culminate in a 'Super Sunday' on May 17, with a potential title-deciding match between England and France as the final fixture. The tournament's new schedule aims to capitalise on the anticipated surge in interest following the Rugby World Cup 2025 in England, positioning the Guinness Women's Six Nations to drive momentum in women's rugby.