Scotland ended a disastrous first 45 minutes with 10 men in Friday’s Euro 2024 opener against Germany.
Steve Clarke’s side were already 2-0 down thanks to goals from Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala when Ryan Porteous made a reckless challenge on Ilkay Gundogan inside the penalty area.
Referee Clement Turpin did not initially award a penalty as Porteous had clearly made contract with the ball.
However, replays showed that the Scotland defender had followed through in a dangerous manner and caught Gundogan’s right shin with both of his feet.
A horror tackle from Ryan Porteous sees him red carded 🔴
The opening game of #Euro2024 is slowly turning into a nightmare for Scotland pic.twitter.com/p6MLpx02QS
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 14, 2024
Another look at the challenge that gave Germany a penalty ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/2mgeA5Jr0b
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 14, 2024
The result of a very short VAR review was a penalty and a straight red card.
Arsenal’s Kai Havertz converted the spot-kick to give Germany a 3-0 advantage going into half-time.
Kai Havertz converts from the spot ⚽️
How impressive have the hosts been in this first half? #Euro2024 | #GERSCO pic.twitter.com/lQX3XA7kGj
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 14, 2024
Too easy for Kai Havertz 🎯
Germany makes it 3-0 in the first half vs Scotland 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/KM78DtYcjW
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 14, 2024
Former England striker Chris Sutton described the challenge by Porteous as “disgraceful”.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Sutton said: “You can’t defend that challenge. It’s disgraceful. That’s a red-card offence, a leg breaker. A scandalous challenge. You can’t tackle like that in any era of football. He knows what he’s trying to do, he goes so high.”