VAR Review: Harry Kane vs Denzel Dumfries! Was Kane's penalty for England the correct call?

We're analysing every VAR decision made throughout all 51 games at Euro 2024. On Wednesday, England were awarded a penalty against Netherlands for a challenge by Denzel Dumfries on Harry Kane. Why was it given, and was it the correct decision?

After each game, we take a look at the major incidents to examine and explain the process in terms of VAR protocol and the laws of the game.

Possible penalty: Dumfries challenge on Kane.

What happened: England were on the attack in the 14th minute with Harry Kane attempting a shot from a bouncing ball that was hit over the bar. He was caught by Netherlands defender Denzel Dumfries after releasing the shot, and went down in pain. Referee Felix Zwayer pointed for a goal kick, but after a few moments it became clear the VAR was checking for a possible penalty.

VAR review: There's an unwritten law in football that if a player manages to complete a shot on goal and is then caught by a defending player, there shouldn't be a penalty. So why is that? Mainly it's because the attacking team cannot lose out on anything because of the challenge -- the shot has been released and the move is over.

It's seems odd, because often in this situation we'd say "but that's a foul anywhere else on the pitch." But make no mistake, there's another unwritten law that the threshold is far higher on a penalty providing a shot on goal vs. a free kick in an area that isn't immediately dangerous.

It's a very harsh intervention by the VAR, Bastian Dankert. It's his ninth game of the tournament, far more than any other video assistant. He has clearly earned a reputation within UEFA as its most trusted VAR throughout the tournament.

So, why has Dankert advised a penalty? He has taken the nature of Dumfries' challenge, leading with the studs as opposed to making an attempt to kick through the ball, as being reckless -- which is why the Netherlands' player was booked. And that's the one area where a defender catching an attacker after a shot can be seeing as a penalty -- when it's reckless or dangerous.

Can you see why this might be a penalty? Yes. Does this reach UEFA's high threshold for a clear and obvious error for a VAR intervention? No. You can only think Kane's reaction, going down in pain, persuaded the VAR.

And in UEFA competition you will almost never see a VAR intervention rejected at the monitor by the referee.

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