Controversy surrounds Vlaar penalty

The decision of sending Dutch defender Ron Vlaar to take the first spot-kick, which he missed, took the centre stage of discussion in Netherlands' penalty shoot-out defeat to Argentina in their World Cup semi-final.

However, video evidence filmed from the crowd seems to show that Vlaar may, in fact, have scored his penalty, with the ball spinning backwards and potentially over the line after being ‘saved’ by Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero, without either the goalkeeper or the referee noticing, reports The Guardian.

When Romero wheeled away in celebration and the realisation hit Vlaar that his failure to convert the first penalty had given Argentina an immediate advantage, the main broadcast feed cut to scenes of Dutch despair.

The Aston Villa defender can be seen gesturing to referee Cuneyt Cakir, who refuses to entertain his plea.

Vlaar, who performed brilliantly to keep Gonzalo Higuaín quiet through 120 minutes, was a surprise choice to take Holland’s first kick and struck his penalty straight down the middle, allowing the Argentina keeper to save, The Guardian reports.

Yet there is also a question over whether the ball touched Vlaar’s shoulder after bouncing.

It is difficult to be certain but another clip from a reverse angle suggests Vlaar dipped his shoulder just in time.

Rules state that the referee must wait for the ball to complete its path but Cakir did not make any attempt to check whether it had indeed crossed the line.