Colombia suffered 'monumental theft' against England, claims Maradona

Moscow [Russia], July 4 (ANI): Argentina football legend Diego Maradona said Colombia's defeat against England in the knockout round of the ongoing 21st edition of the FIFA World Cup was a case of 'monumental theft'.

Accusing American referee Mark Geiger of favouring the English side, the 57-year old said that the penalty awarded to Englishmen after Colombian player Carlos Sanchez was arbitrated to have pulled England captain Harry Kane down was actually a foul by the English player.

"I saw a monumental theft on the pitch. I apologise to all the Colombian people, but the players are not to blame for this," said Maradona was quoted by Goal.com, who sourced teleSUR, as saying.

"The penalty. The penalty was not a penalty. It was Kane's fault. The rules allow for VAR assistance, yes or no? Why did he not ask for the VAR? It is not possible, this has to be denounced," he added.

Maradona further questioned FIFA referee Chief Pierluigi Collina's decision to appoint Geiger as the match referee.

"Here is a gentleman [Collina] who is the one who decides to choose a referee by just googling him. He cannot be put in to referee a match of this magnitude," he said.

Earlier, Mark Geiger was suspended for six months from international football after being accused of making several controversial decisions during the 2015 Gold Cup semi-final between Panama and Mexico.

England had defeated Colombia 4-3 on penalties after playing a 1-1 draw in the knockout match. (ANI)

This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI