Euro 2020: What was the controversy behind Raheem Sterling's penalty win for England against Denmark?

Harry Kane sent England into uncharted waters on Wednesday when he scored to propel England past Denmark into the Euro 2020 final.

His effort from the rebound off his initially-saved penalty in extra-time to send his country into their first ever European Championship final. It was also England's first-ever major tournament final after the 1966 World Cup final. 

Kane tied Gary Lineker's record for the most combined England goals at European Championships and World Cups, but his extra-time winner against Denmark came with huge controversy. It was Raheem Sterling who initially won the penalty which sparked the controversy.

How did Sterling win the penalty?

Sterling dashed through Denmark's defence in the first-half of extra time, twisting past a couple of defenders. However, he appeared to go down under a challenge from Joakim Maehle and the referee promptly pointed to the penalty spot. 

VAR, understandably, had a look at the incident and upheld the decision much to the furore of the Danish defenders. Kane promptly stepped up for the spot-kick but had to convert the rebund after Kasper Schmeichel saved his initial effort.

What was the controversy behind Sterling's penalty?

Though Sterling has after the match claimed that he felt a contact, the replays showed if there was one, it was extremely minimal. The Manchester City forward appeared to be falling down even before Maehle had tried to challenge him. 

Surprisingly, VAR did not ask the referee to come and look at the monitor to make his mind up and that caused considerable confusion among fans and pundits alike. 

Many leading experts, including former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and current AS Roma boss Jose Mourinho have stated that it was not a penalty at all while numerous fans stated that Sterling dived. Understandably, the incident also gave rise to trolls. 

However, the controversy did not stop at that. 

Were there two balls on the field during Sterling's penalty win?

While the main point of debate was around the merit of the penalty, there was also controversy over the fact that there were two balls on the field in the build-up to the penalty.

While Sterling dribbled his way into the box from the right wing, there was another ball lying inside the playing field which further caused furore among fans. 

While the FIFA rule states that if the second ball (or stray ball) was not interfering with the play, the referee is not bound to stop the game. However, fans took to social media to debate the same and some felt that the ball was interfering with the move.