Ghana held England to a goalless draw but controversy erupted over a late penalty appeal that was not reviewed by VAR. Ghana’s coach Carlos Queiroz expressed frustration, sarcastically suggesting that the video assistant referee might have been on a coffee break. The incident occurred when Ghana’s Prince Kwabena Adu was challenged by England defender Ezri Konsa inside the box, with replays showing contact on Adu’s knee rather than the ball.

Queiroz questioned whether VAR was functioning properly and argued that the foul warranted both a penalty and a red card. BBC analysts, including former England captain Wayne Rooney and ex-defender Micah Richards, agreed that the challenge could easily have been penalized. Former assistant referee Darren Cann also said the referee should have been advised to review the incident.

Analysts noted that FIFA’s current VAR policy under chief refereeing officer Pierluigi Collina gives more authority to on-field referees, reducing VAR intervention in borderline cases. Ghana, despite earning one point, left the match questioning whether VAR had truly seen the incident.