Fans start petitions calling for England vs Italy rematch

A section of England fans have started to petition for the replay of the Euro 2020 final, after deeming the manner of the Three Lions' exit 'unfair.'

Gareth Southgate's side crashed out to the Azzurri on penalties after taking the final the full distance at Wembley, but a cross section of fans were left feeling hard done by.

Italy have since received accusations of playing ‘dirty’ after captain Giorgio Chiellini pulled on Bukayo Saka’s collar and caused him to fall to the ground in the latter stages.

While some fans quickly took to social media to argue he deserved a red card for the move, he ultimately got away with a yellow.

The refereeing decisions therefore have been widely disputed since and a number of England fans have took it upon themselves to start up with petitions.

One petition, in its description, outlines: 'Bukayo Saka was mistreated during the match between England and Italy as he was dragged down by his shirt by Giorgio Cheiellini and given a yellow card when it CLEARLY should’ve been a red card. I do strongly believe that the referee was biased and in favour of Italy.’

Another argues Chiellini should have been given a red card, and that a rematch should take place with a ‘non-biased referee’.

Many supporters have, understandably, distanced themselves from the petitions and their embarrassing nature.

At present several of the petitions exist, though are struggling to gain any substantial traction.

Of the five petitions so far, one is approaching 1,500 signatories, while the others have rather meagre numbers.

One petition, named Justice Rematch for England had just six people on board as of Monday morning.

After the match on Sunday night Gareth Southgate fronted up to the media and insisted he would take all responsibility for the penalty shootout failure.

Harry Kane and Harry Maguire scored England's first two penalties — but Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho failed to convert, before Saka saw his decisive spot-kick saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Southgate said: 'That is my responsibility. I chose the guys to take the kicks. I told the players that nobody is on their own in that situation.

'We win and lose together as a team. They have been tight throughout and that's how it needs to stay.

'It is my decision to give (Saka) that penalty. That is totally my responsibility. It is not him or Marcus or Jadon. We worked through them in training.

'That is the order we came to. Marcus and Jadon have been by far the best in the lead-in. It was a gamble (to bring them on), but if we gamble earlier we maybe lose the game in extra time.'