Referee bottled Welbeck decision, claims Kane

Harry Kane said England should have emerged from its Nations League opener with a draw after Danny Welbeck's goal was ruled out.

Published : Sep 09, 2018 12:35 IST

England captain Harry Kane accused the match referee of giving into pressure when he ruled out a Danny Welbeck goal for an infringement.
England captain Harry Kane accused the match referee of giving into pressure when he ruled out a Danny Welbeck goal for an infringement.
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England captain Harry Kane accused the match referee of giving into pressure when he ruled out a Danny Welbeck goal for an infringement.

England captain Harry Kane accused match referee Danny Makkelie of buckling under pressure when he ruled out a Danny Welbeck goal for an infringement as England lost 2-1 to Spain in the Nations League.

Welbeck had the ball into the net deep into injury time as England attempted to get back on level terms at Wembley, where first-half goals from Saul Niguez and Rodrigo put Spain in front.

Marcus Rashford's opener gave England a bright start but it struggled to match Spain until the last 20 minutes, when it probed for an equaliser.

When asked whether Welbeck's goal should after he was penalised for a foul on Spain goalkeeper David de Gea, Kane told Sky Sports : "100 per cent.

READ: Fears for Shaw after injury in England vs Spain

"In the big moments you need the referee to stay strong but unfortunately he has bottled it.

"Big moments you need a firm referee who doesn't, under the pressure, make wrong decisions.

"Danny stood there, De Gea went up, he caught the ball but as he went down he fell on Danny, no foul or anything, and the ball has dropped."

Despite the disappointment of defeat in his side's first outing since it finished fourth at the World Cup in Russia, Kane praised his team-mates' efforts.

England lost full-back Luke Shaw early in the second half when he collided with Spain's Dani Carvajal, but the side rallied late in the second-half and almost equalised when Kane put Rashford through for a shot that De Gea blocked with his legs.

"It was a good game, a good test against a team that keeps the ball well," said Kane.

"It was difficult but we had good spells in the game and we probably created the better chances.

"We tried to press and play with high intensity. There's a lot of stuff we can learn from but I think we can hold our heads up high."

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