SWITZERLAND midfielder Remo Freuler was sent off against Spain but fans fellow professionals could not believe the decision.
And although the brave Swiss held on for a 1-1 draw in the final 25 minutes and then extra-time, it was Spain who held their nerve in the penalty shootout to progress to the semi-finals.
Freuler dived in for a tackle on Gerard Moreno late in the second half and British referee Michael Oliver deemed the challenge a red card offence.
Peter Walton backed up the decision as part of ITV’s commentary, suggesting Freuler had lost control and endangered Moreno by leaving the floor in his lunge.
VAR backed up Oliver’s decision which meant Freuler headed for the tunnel, much to his dismay.
And he was not the only one bemused by Oliver’s decision, with one fan tweeting: “Games gone.”
Another added: “Games gone. Shock that Peter Walton backs the ref too.”
Gary Lineker also weighed in on incident, declaring he disapproved of both Oliver’s decision and the rules of the game.
He tweeted: “Another red card for virtually nothing.”
And Arsenal star Rob Holding shared the view of a current player on the situation.
He wrote in an Instagram story: “Red card???! You can’t even tackle anymore. Games gone.”
Labour MP Andy Burnham also took aim at former referee Walton, tweeting: “Am I the only one who never agrees with Peter Walton?”
Despite going down to ten men with 13 minutes remaining in normal time the Swiss held onto the 1-1 scoreline until the end of extra time.
Spain piled on the pressure in extra-time but a combination of goalkeeper Yann Sommer and some brave defending from the Switzerland backline meant the Swiss went to a penalty shoot-out for the second game running in Euro 2020.
But Switzerland ran out of luck in the penalty shoot-out, losing 3-1.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
