England coach Thomas Tuchel said World Cup referees were “simply not good enough” after their dramatic round-of-16 win over Mexico.
The Three Lions were reduced to 10 men and also awarded a controversial penalty in a thrilling game at the Azteca Stadium.
“It’s not enough,” Tuchel told BBC Sport. “The referees are just not good enough, the fourth officials are just not good enough. That’s the point.
“Is this a clear and obvious error in awarding the penalty? Of course not. They called it off when he didn’t even foul.”
England led 2-0 at half-time thanks to two goals from Jude Bellingham in as many minutes, but Julian Quinones pulled a goal back just before half-time.
However, the game was livened up in the second half with two important moments.
First, Jarell Quansah was sent off in the 54th minute after the video assistant referee showed he had apparently attacked Jesus Gallardo with his spikes raised.
The moment briefly inspired the Mexico fans, but England soon took a 3-1 lead when Harry Kane converted a penalty.
“It’s a clear red card,” Darren Cann, assistant referee for the 2010 World Cup final, told BBC One.
“Quansa plays the ball first, but it doesn’t matter in terms of the rules of the game.
“It goes through and you can clearly see the spikes on your shin. The referee has no choice but to show a red card. 100% red card.”
England restored their two-goal lead when Harry Kane converted a penalty, but Mexico hit back again when they were awarded a penalty.
Kane appeared to punch Brian Gutierrez and after referee Alireza Faghani went to the monitor to review the incident, he awarded a penalty, which was converted by Raul Jimenez.
“It’s a penalty,” Cann added.
“Kane unfortunately hits a Mexico player on the leg. It’s a bit like the strike from (Luka) Modric that gave England a penalty in the first group game. Kane doesn’t know the player is coming from behind.”
Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart believed that all the key decisions made were correct.
“I think the referee made the right decision on all three (the penalty and the red card),” he told BBC One.
“I felt every one… as soon as I saw the replays, my heart sank. Quansah deserved to go, Kane didn’t get the ball and Gordon (in the England penalty) got to the ball first.”