Italy have launched a bitter complaint about the penalty awarded to England late in the Lionesses’ victory at Euro 2025. Chloe Kelly’s dramatic 119th-minute rebound after her initial spot-kick was saved sent Sarina Wiegman’s side into their third consecutive major tournament final.
England fought back from an early goal to equalise in the final minute of normal time through the impressive Michelle Agyemang. A tense period of extra-time followed, with England prevailing under controversial circumstances. Substitute Beth Mead was adjudged to have been grappled to the ground unfairly by Emma Severini, with referee Ivana Martincic awarding a penalty in the 119th minute. Kelly scored after her initial effort was saved.
Italy were furious with the refereeing decision. Head coach Andrea Soncin said: “I saw it very quickly, I spoke to the assistants who were reviewing it and they were holding each other back.
“I’d be tempted to ask: would [it] have been called in the other area at that point in the match? I don’t know. It’s a penalty that could or could not be given because the holding was mutual and light.”
Captain Cristiana Girelli accused the Croatian official of failing to match the high-quality standards on the pitch. She said: “We came here to rekindle the fire that has been missing in recent years. We want to thank you, but the disappointment is enormous because we were two minutes away from something historic. I’m proud of my team-mates because we played an incredible match.
“Then, I can say, when the level rises this much, you also need top-notch refereeing. When you make important decisions, you have to keep a cool head. When you award a penalty like that, at least go and review it.
“But it’s not an excuse, we could have doubled our lead in the final minutes and the match would have ended there. I’m proud of what we did. These are tears of sadness and pride.”
Italy centre-back Elena Linari added: “I’m particularly disappointed about the rebound that came back to level the score and I take my responsibility. I was hoping for VAR on the penalty because I know Severini and if she tells me it wasn’t a penalty I’ll believe her.”
Midfielder Manuela Giugliano was also furious, insisting: “They definitely didn’t deserve to win, we gave it our all and we have nothing to regret.
“We showed what the real Italy is, a team that wanted to reach the final and achieve a great goal not just for ourselves, but for all Italians. We definitely made people fall in love, and now we have to continue to prove we can stay at this level.”
England will face either Euro 2022 final opponents Germany or 2023 World Cup nemeses Spain in Sunday’s showdown. The other semi-final takes place tonight.