Jamie Carragher and Gary Lineker slam penalty decision in North Macedonia vs England | OneFootball

Highlights

Gary Lineker, Jamie Carragher and nearly every fan watching England's European Championship qualifying game against North Macedonia have slammed the decision to award a penalty to the hosts. The Three Lions fell behind in the 41st minute after Rico Lewis was penalised for a foul inside the box.

England, having already qualified for next year's tournament in Germany, came into the game only playing to maintain their undefeated record in Group C. Gareth Southgate's side are yet to lose a match, and have only dropped points in a 1-1 draw against Ukraine.

North Macedonia also came into the match with nothing to play for, too far behind second and third placed Italy and Ukraine, who played each other in their final qualifier. A draw or win for Italy would see them qualify, while Ukraine needed a victory to leapfrog their Monday night opponents.

Lewis penalised for foul on debut

It was a big night for Manchester City's Lewis. Called up after players had dropped out of the existing squad, the 18-year-old was handed a first senior cap by Southgate in England's final qualifier. However, his debut took a turn for the worse, albeit harshly.

With 39 minutes on the clock, the full-back jumped in the air to challenge for a header. In making the leap, his arm inadvertedly struck Bojan Miovski inside the box, with the game paused for a VAR check.

After referee Filip Glova paid a visit to the pitchside monitor, he awarded the hosts a penalty, much to the shock of the 11 England players on the pitch. Shot-stopper Jordan Pickford made a good save to deny Enis Bardhi, but the skipper was on hand to convert the re-bound which fell kindly to him. You can check out the incident for yourselves below.

Lineker and Carragher in shock over penalty

Fans and pundits were absolutely furious with the decision, all baffled that the penalty was awarded after a VAR check. Match of the Day host Lineker, writing on X, described the penalty call as, "the most ridiculous penalty decision", while former Chelsea captain John Terry wrote, 'How is that a penalty?'.

Carragher, who made 38 appearances for the Three Lions, described his confusion over the process. The former Liverpool defender questioned why the offence from Lewis was penalised, but why a previous tackle from Harry Maguire was not.

At a glance, Maguire's tackle does look to be more of a foul. After giving away possession, he clumsily brings down his opponent inside the box. However, the referee waved shouts for a penalty away, with no review forthcoming.

Although the Three Lions have nothing left to play for, they will still want to get a final win. They thought they had found the equaliser in the 47th minute when Bukayo Saka burst into the box and teed up Jack Grealish, but the goal was disallowed for offside. However, Jani Atanasov scored an own goal just before the hour mark, diverting in a Harry Kane header from a corner.