England should have had three penalties in their World Cup quarter-final defeat to France, according to former Premier League referee Peter Walton.
The Three Lions were knocked out of the finals in Qatar after goals from Aurelien Tchouameni and Olivier Giroud, either side of Harry Kane's equaliser, saw Didier Deschamps' side set up a semi-final tie with Morocco next week.
The England captain, Kane, squandered the opportunity to restore parity with eight minutes remaining at the Al Bayt Stadium as he was unable to beat Tottenham Hotspur team-mate Hugo Lloris from twelve yards for the second time in the match, as he skied his penalty over the crossbar.
READ MORE: Former Everton staff member slams 'absolute nonsense' rumours about James Rodriguez
READ MORE: Luis Diaz injury has forced a Liverpool risk that Jurgen Klopp won't want to take
However, the 2018 semi-finalists felt aggrieved with the way in which Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio officiated the game as he denied the Three Lions a penalty midway through the first half when France's Dayot Upamecano appeared to bring down Kane in the box after the England forward had got the better of him.
But despite a check from his Video Assistant Referee counterparts, Sampaio decided against awarding a penalty to the dismay of Walton, who was part of ITV's coverage of the contest.
"Well, it’s clear to me that the contact that has been made with Kane’s calf is on the line, the line is part of that penalty area," said Walton, who officiated as a referee for nine years in the Premier League. "The Brazilian referee ought to be afforded the luxury to look at this again. I think this is a foul."
Kane would eventually get the chance to beat Lloris from the spot after 54 minutes when the Three Lions' lively start after the interval was rewarded when Tchouameni fouled Bukayo Saka.
As Kane dragged England level with just over 30 minutes remaining, there was still time for further controversy as, just minutes after Giroud had superbly nodded Deschamps' side ahead, Mason Mount was bundled to the ground by defender Theo Hernandez while chased a long ball from Jude Bellingham.
After initially waving away the decision, Sampaio was instructed to go to the VAR monitor to take a second look at the incident. It was there that he handed Southgate's side another penalty, which Walton believes was the correct decision.
"A shoulder barge is allowed in the laws [of the game] but that for me is not a shoulder barge," added Walton. "He goes with his shoulder and gets him in the middle of the back that should be afforded a second look."
READ NEXT
- Petty Jordan Pickford claims about Everton and England are myth and sheer ignorance
- Former Everton staff member slams 'absolute nonsense' rumours about James Rodriguez
- Punter misses £2,000 payout after Virgil van Dijk yellow card confusion at World Cup
- EXCLUSIVE: Jamie Carragher explains how 'game changer' Bellingham can emulate Van Dijk
