Virgil van Dijk to be further infuriated as missed replay shows England goal 'shouldn't have stood'

Netherland supporters have swarmed social media with grievances over a handball that occurred before England was awarded a penalty, which cast a shadow over their Euro 2024 semi-final exit.

Although England's win has injected even more optimism into the hearts of Three Lions fans, who now see Sunday's Euro 2024 final against Spain as a fateful event where Harry Kane and his team could finally bring it home.

Early elation for Dutch fans was ignited in Dortmund when Xavi Simons unleashed a scorcher past Jordan Pickford within seven minutes. However, despair quickly set in as Harry Kane levelled with a first-half penalty, followed by Ollie Watkins bagging a last-gasp goal to crush Dutch hopes.

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The contentious penalty, awarded after Kane fell following contact by Denzel Dumfries, has sparked hefty debate amongst the online community - especially with an overlooked handball by Bukayo Saka prior to the penalty incident now under the microscope.

Supporters claimed England got lucky with the call, noting that the ball appeared to deflect off Saka's hand in the box just before Kane's effort on goal. One supporter exclaimed: "VAR even missed or didn't care about Saka's handball on both hands before the penalty situation. Lucky England should thank the refs."

Yet another asserted multiple infringements took place, stating: "Tweet out the first handball as well, he didn't just touch it once in this situation but multiple times."

One individual demanded a total revamp of VAR, arguing: "VAR is a disgrace. In the Belgium game, the VAR went back as much as 20+ secs. Saka's handball was directly prior to the supposed foul. Game is rigged. Skip VAR, switch to referrals like in hockey."

Another social media user chimed in: "This handball moment from Saka is what cost Netherlands the game. VAR should be used, and Kane did not deserve that penalty kick."

The call to penalize Denzel Dumfries for following through on Kane after the England striker had sent a shot over Bart Verbruggen's crossbar sparked a heated debate. Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman was fuming over the decision and insisted that a spot-kick should never have been awarded.

In his post-match comments, he stated: "In my opinion it should not have been a penalty. He kicked the ball and the boots touched. I think that we cannot play properly football and this is due to VAR. It really breaks football."

Despite his frustration, Koeman was gracious in defeat overall, adding: "England showed great football in the first half after being 1-0 down. It's football. If you watch all the matches of the Spanish national team they are more offensive with wingers and [playing] football from the back and ball position and you need to stop that."