Indeed, this year’s edition of the FIFA World Cup in Russia has been full of surprises. From Germany’s shock elimination at the hands of ‘red-hot’ Heung Min Son led Korea, to Spain’s painful defeat on penalties at the hands of Stanislav Cherchesov 's Russia, no one really knows what to expect.
This year, we’ve also been blessed to witness some ‘big’ teams break respective hoodoos, for instance, England won a penalty shootout in the tournament for the first time in their history. They could have been dispensed of at the hands of Colombia if it were not for their prowess from the spot.
The Three Lions are in the quarter-finals and are set to face Sweden on Saturday.
According to several sport outlets in Europe, more than 200,000 people have signed a petition demanding a replay between Gareth Southgate’s men and ‘Los Cafeteros’.
This is after claims surfaced that England were awarded a penalty for a non-existent foul in the second half and Colombia striker Carlos Bacca’s extra-time goal shouldn’t have been ruled out. Bacca scored immediately referee Mark Geiger stopped play after Harry Maguire was distracted by a second ball that would have come on the pitch had the assistant not stopped it.
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According to the Mirror, the petition calls on FIFA to review these two actions, in order to set a precedent for fair play.
These actions drew the attention of Argentina legend Diego Maradona who was angry and labelled the result a ‘monumental robbery’ – comments that FIFA condemned.
