Mourinho: ‘Ref won’t sleep well’ after dodgy penalty sees England beat Denmark

Jose Mourinho doesn’t believe referee Danny Makkelie is going to sleep well after Harry Kane’s controversial penalty saw England advance to the Euro 2020 final at Denmark’s expense.

A nail biting affair saw Simon Kjaer’s own goal cancel out Mikkel Damsgaard’s free-kick, before Kane’s extra-time penalty sent the entire nation – quite literally – into raptures.

Dutch official Danny Makkelie’s decision to penalise Joakim Maehle for making contact with Raheem Sterling wasn’t deemed a clear and obvious error.

The VAR official wasn’t in a position to overturn the decision, because the on-field decision ultimately went in England’s favour.

Maehle made minimal contact with the Manchester City forward, and legendary boss Mourinho expressed his disappointment at the decision on talkSPORT following the frenatic encounter.

“Yes, amazing game, but I’m not sure you want to listen to my opinion,” Mourinho began.

“I say the way I see it, not the way it is. Maybe you don’t like my opinion this time….

“It’s never a penalty. The best team won, England deserve to win. England was fantastic, but for me it’s never a penalty.

“The best team won, England are a better team than Denmark. Denmark played the way I was expecting them to play on to their limits.

“England was really, really good and no doubt they deserved to win that match.

“But, for me, it’s never a penalty. At this level, a semi-final of a Euro I don’t understand really the referee’s decision.”

He continued: “And I don’t understand even less the fact that the VAR didn’t bring the referee to the screen or overturn the decision. For me it’s never a penalty.

“So as a football man I’m very happy England won – don’t get me wrong – and I think they deserve to win – don’t get me wrong.

“But as a football man, I am disappointed that penalty was given. I thought England would win it.

“The Danish team was really, really tired in extra time. The players were absolutely at their limits.

“England had a fantastic bench to move like they did. They could even move more if they needed with the intensity of their play and their dominance in extra-time.

“I thought England would win in extra-time. As a football man I’m not happy with that penalty.

“I would say to the Danish manager congratulations for what you did, but I would prefer to win in a different way.”

Meanwhile, Mourinho reiterated his earlier view that England have what it takes to end their 55-year wait for a major trophy with Italy lying in waiting in the final.

He explained: “I think it is to win, the runners-up medal is not a nice one. England at home, you know, you have to go to win it and if England doesn’t win it I think it will be a double frustration.

“It is so close – it’s just about one match. The England players showed they could cope with a difficult match, they could cope with the pressure, they could cope being 1-0 behind and having a very strong reaction.

“After that we didn’t see players hiding, we saw every player playing well. I didn’t see one single player that didn’t play well or very well, everybody was really performing at a high level.

“I think they showed they can cope with it. Italy is, of course, a team very famous by know how and by pragmatism and by coping with extreme pressure situations.

“It will be a big, big match like it was before. Italy have even more potential than Denmark. I’m waiting for a really, really big final.

“But I say it the way I see it and I don’t believe the referee is going to sleep well!”