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Rico Lewis England North Macedonia FoulGetty
Aditya Gokhale

WATCH: VAR blasted for 'most ridiculous penalty decision' after Rico Lewis penalised on England debut against North Macedonia

England went 1-0 down to North Macedonia after VAR awarded the hosts a penalty for a Rico Lewis foul on Bojan Miovski.

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Article continues below

Article continues below

  • North Macedonia take 1-0 lead
  • Macedonia given penalty for Lewis's foul
  • Lineker ridicules VAR decision

  • WHAT HAPPENED?

    Rico Lewis' England debut was marred on Tuesday night by a contentious penalty awarded by referee Filip Glova against the Manchester City defender. The full-back grabbed a North Macedonia player with a flailing hand while leaping to head away from a long ball, causing VAR to step in and request that the incident be examined at the pitch-side monitor.

    Gary Lineker reacted to the contentious call on Twitter:

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  • WATCH THE CLIP

  • THE BIGGER PICTURE

    During the international break, Lewis was a last-minute addition to Gareth Southgate's squad after a number of players were forced to withdraw due to injury, giving the starting lineup many opportunities. Then, when the Three Lions faced North Macedonia at the Tose Proeski Arena, Southgate gave the 18-year-old his time to shine on the international scene by starting him at left-back.

  • Rico Lewis England North MacedoniaGetty

    WHAT NEXT FOR ENGLAND?

    The Three Lions are currently trailing North Macedonia by a goal as they look to end their European Championship qualifiers.