Former Premier League referee Mark Halsey believes England defender Ezri Konsa was fortunate to avoid conceding a late penalty during England’s draw with Ghana.
England were held to a dull goalless result, missing the opportunity to secure qualification for the World Cup knockout rounds.
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The situation nearly worsened for the Three Lions when Konsa, 28, seemed to foul Prince Adu inside the box.
The Ghana midfielder was advancing towards goal when the Aston Villa defender launched into a challenge from behind.
Video replays appeared to show Konsa, who recently celebrated Europa League success, making contact with Adu’s knee without touching the ball.
This referee must be investigated. No pen for this tackle from Pickford ? pic.twitter.com/qdmiq8RG36
— (@al_varo777) June 24, 2026
Halsey, 64, later told SunSport that England were lucky to escape punishment for the incident, although he had no complaints about an earlier collision involving Jordan Pickford.
He said: “Ezri Konsa was incredibly lucky not to concede a penalty. He dives in, does not play the ball and catches Ghana midfielder Prince Adu on the knee in the 79th minute.
“It was ruled offside – but that offence happened after the challenge by England’s Konsa.
if this isn’t a penalty, what is pic.twitter.com/sBMMVeW2Tf
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) June 23, 2026
“It was not even mentioned as being looked at by VAR, so England can consider themselves fortunate they did not lose.
“But I had no problem with Jordan Pickford not being penalised when he raced out of his goal and collided with Adu.
“It was a fifty-fifty – and those calls always go to the keeper.”
Supporters shared Halsey’s view and quickly took to social media to question why referee Said Martinez was not advised by VAR official Armando Villarreal to review the incident on the pitchside monitor.
One said: “Konsa was definitely very fortunate, very strange that it wasn’t referred.”
Another added: “How did Konsa get away with that? He flies in and gets absolutely nowhere near the ball. Crazy.”
A third chimed in: “They should’ve got a penalty from that stupid challenge Konsa did, and could’ve ended up in a red.”
A fourth claimed: “That Konsa challenge is a stonewall penalty.”
