Denzel Dumfries makes Harry Kane confession after controversial semi-final penalty

Denzel Dumfries' attempt to block a Harry Kane shot ended up in a penalty for England as the Dutch defender shoulder the responsibility despite the controversial call

Denzel Dumfries has taken full responsibility for the controversial penalty awarded to England but maintains "I barely touched him".

The Dutch were stunned when the Three Lions were given a penalty in their semi-final following a VAR check. Dumfries had attempted to block a Harry Kane volley and the Bayern Munich man stayed down, which gave time for the replays to be reviewed.

Kane's foot looked to have made contact with Dumfries, who was looking to block the shot, but few initially thought it would be given as a spot kick. The referee went over to the monitor however and gave the decision, allowing England to equalise.

The Inter Milan man confessed the minute he saw the referee take a second look, he knew what was coming. He said: “I want to block the shot. I barely touch him. I do think [it’s a VAR penalty]. You know when he goes to the sideline, he can give it. I take full responsibility”.

It ruled out Xavi Simons' powerful opener and gave England parity, before they scored their winner in the 90th minute courtesy of Ollie Watkins. The Netherlands though were focused on the referee and his divisive call after the game as their tournament came to an end.

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Dutch boss Ronald Koeman said: "In my opinion it should not have been a penalty. He kicked the ball and the boots touched. I think that we cannot play properly football and this is due to VAR. It really breaks football."

Virgil van Dijk endured another heartbreak on the international stage as the Liverpool man struggles to replicate his club success with his country. The prospect of a major tournament final was on the cards in Dortmund and he was also left fuming with the officials.

The centre-half said: "I don’t know what to say, I don’t know if I should say something about this. But I think it says it all that the referee went in quite quickly after the game, had no time to shake his hand."

Gary Neville, part of the ITV punditry line-up, confessed that handing England a penalty was "an absolutely disgraceful decision." He went on to add: "There's no way that was a penalty. He just goes in naturally to block the shot. It's not a penalty for me."

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