Why were England awarded a penalty against Wales at Women's Euro 2025?

Independent

13-07-2025

England were awarded a controversial penalty in their Euro 2025 match against Wales as a foul on Georgia Stanway was ruled to have taken place inside the box.
Danish referee Frida Klarlund initially awarded a free-kick when Carrie Jones was ruled to have clipped Stanway close to the 18-yard line, with the England midfielder falling outside the area.
However, after a long delay, the VAR decided that the foul on Stanway took place inside the box and referee Klarlund pointed to the spot. Stanway kept her cool to fire England in front.
The VAR decision was confirmed to have been made on whether the foul took place inside the area, which is an objective decision and did not require an on-field review from the referee.
The ruling provided by Uefa said: 'Wales' player No20 [Jones] committed the foul inside the penalty area.'
But the decision to award a foul in the first place was controversial as there appeared to be minimal contact between Jones and Stanway. Jones made two attempts to win the ball and it was perhaps the second attempt that caused Stanway to go to ground.
As the decision to award a foul is subjective it would have required an on-field review from the on-pitch referee to overturn it. However, the VAR did not ask referee Klarlund to check the on-pitch monitor.
The 13th-minute penalty was a blow for Wales as they had to beat England by four goals, while requiring the Netherlands beat France, in order to reach the quarter-finals.
England need to win to reach the quarter-finals, and will do so regardless of the France result, and their lead was quickly doubled by Ella Toone during the first half at the Arena St Gallen.