The Football Association has submitted a report to Fifa seeking clarification on perceived inconsistencies in penalties at the World Cup.
After beating Iran 6-2, manager Gareth Southgate said he was “worried” about the impact of England’s appearance during a pre-tournament refereeing briefing.
Harry Maguire was denied an early penalty on Monday, but Iran received one for a similar incident.
“We’ve filed a report. We haven’t heard anything yet,” Southgate said.
FIFA Referees Committee Chairman Pierluigi Collina spoke at the briefing, which was also open to the media.
The Italian used a clip of blocking midfielder Kalvin Phillips to create space for Maguire to score from a corner and said such a goal would be disallowed at the World Cup.
Maguire appeared to be taken off a corner against Iran, who were then kicked after a shirt kick from England defender John Stones. Argentina were also awarded a similar penalty against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
“There was obviously a penalty given the following afternoon, so whether that was a consequence of the referees reviewing our game or not, it’s hard to say,” Southgate added.
“The concern is consistency. We know what we have to do right and we know we risk being punished for certain things.
“I think for all the teams in the tournament there’s a worry when you’re not sure what’s going to be given and also that uncertainty on the pitch and VAR as well.”
“It’s a super difficult job, but you need clarity”
Referring to the sanctions decisions against Iran, Stones added: “I don’t know what that VAR thought process was.
“I know Harry was sort of highlighted in that first type of case, but I’m not one to fall for it and I straight up asked for a penalty. I didn’t even realize Harry got the same thing.
“Looking back on it, I’m a little baffled that nothing was called and then it was for something that in my opinion was never, ever, ever a penalty.
“I’m not one to concede stupid fouls or things like that and I don’t believe that with the amount of shoving that happens in a club, a little tug on the shirt will cause someone’s knees to buckle. and flip it over.
“But there has to be some kind of consistency. It’s hard to know what someone’s thought process is because we sat down in a refereeing meeting before the tournament and were told some things and I think our frustration is when that’s not being saved.
“It’s tough because we try to adapt our game to how they want to officiate things and I understand they have a super tough job these days with all the cameras and so many different options than others. But there has to be some clarity.”
