Disgraceful scenes... but Kane stayed cool

IT WAS not in added time that England conceded their equaliser but Colombian time. Their dirty tricks after England were awarded a penalty caused a delay of three minutes and 31 seconds — their gamesmanship through the match led to five minutes of stoppage time. Within seven seconds of referee Mark Geiger pointing to the spot, eight Colombia players swamped him. Immediately Carlos Sanchez — who was cautioned for wrestling Harry Kane to the ground — and Radamel Falcao were up in his face... but the referee did not take control. He allowed Colombia’s mob rule to continue. While Geiger was preoccupied, left back Johan Mojica even started to scuff up the penalty spot. I have never seen anything quite like it. It was disgraceful. VAR has been largely successful at this tournament, but it has created lengthy delays while key decisions are checked. Here, we needed a strong referee who was prepared to book any player who crowded him. Instead it was England players who had to come across to protect the official. Jordan Henderson is another captain on the pitch for England and got involved to help resolve the situation. But this was exactly what Colombia wanted. Yerry Mina’s subtle contact on Henderson provoked the midfielder to flick his head back into the defender and he was subsequently booked. Yet in such a high-pressured situation, England’s trump card is Kane. As all around him were losing their heads, Kane kept his own. As soon as he was fouled he picked up the ball and took himself away from any trouble. And as he walked away to gather his thoughts he was followed around by Wilmar Barrios, but continued to ignore him. Barrios’s team-mate Mina then tried to get involved too before Dele Alli and Raheem Sterling stepped in. Mina, Sanchez and David Ospina then tried to verbally disrupt Kane. But he continued to distance himself from any disturbances, despite Sanchez’s best final efforts. After Henderson was cautioned, Jesse Lingard even ushered Kane out of the box so he could focus on his spot-kick. When Kane coolly finished past Ospina, it seemed as if Colombia’s tricks had failed. Ultimately, though, they were able to snatch their equaliser in the time they created before penalties settled it.