Italian media likens ‘frightened’ England to ‘boring’ trifle
The Italian media weren’t impressed by England’s semi-final win over Denmark on Wednesday.
Harry Kane’s extra-time winner at Wembley secured a place for England in their first major tournament final since 1966.
But the Italian press believes the referee helped England, while hinting that Gareth Southgate’s side are boring and were ‘frightened’ of Denmark.
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The front page of Corriere dello Sport (via Yahoo) ran the headline ‘Zuppa Inglese’ – a trifle-like Italian dessert considered to be boring.
The excerpt read: “Southgate needs the help of the referee to reach the final against Italy.”
The article explained how referee ‘Makkelie’s whistle’, which saw Denmark punished for bringing down Raheem Sterling in the box for the penalty, was the turning point. Well, yes, it was.
La Gazzetto dello Sport claimed the penalty decision was ‘soft’ and said ‘doubts remain’ over whether Denmark should have been penalised.
The article added that Denmark ‘frightened’ England and urged the Roberto Mancini’s Italy to ‘take the crown’ on Sunday.
And beIN Sports’ Tancredi Palmeri referenced ‘Three Lions’ in a mocking jibe at Sterling being awarded the penalty, tweeting: ‘It’s diving home’.
It’s diving home
— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) July 7, 2021
Peter Schmeichel was left frustrated after the game, agreeing with the Italian outlets over the referee’s penalty call.
“He made a really big mistake on the penalty and this will be debated for a long, long time. It’s a hard one to take because it’s not a penalty,” he told beIN SPORTS.
“I would have been much more relaxed and acceptable if they had scored one of the many chances that they created, but unfortunately, the referee made a big mistake in my opinion.
“I know in your opinion and everyone’s opinion – my phone has not stopped going off – everyone else is saying it’s not a penalty so I’m quite sure that I’m right.
“We are very proud of the Danish team. We think the Danish team has done fantastically well. We leave the tournament with honour and England go on to play Italy in the final.
“They have had a really good tournament. It’s the first time, today, they have played against very, very top, tough opposition and in the end they came good.”
