Man City's Rico Lewis Concedes "Ridiculous" Penalty On England Debut

Rico Lewis made his international debut for England in Monday's Euro 2024 qualifier vs North Macedonia and conceded a "ridiculous" penalty after a VAR review.

Manchester City defender Rico Lewis made his senior international debut for England in Monday's Euro 2024 qualifier against North Macedonia.

It did not start well.

The 19-year-old - who was playing as a left-back - gave away a penalty kick in the 37th minute.

Referee Filip Glova did not initially point to the penalty spot after Bojan Miovski had fallen to the ground.

But a VAR review using slow-motion replays eventually found Rico guilty of fouling Miovski.

The apparent foul had occurred when Lewis touched Miovski's face with his hand while jumping for a header.

Rico Lewis (left) pictured moments after he apparently fouled Bojan Miovski during England's Euro 2024 qualifiers against North Macedonia / FOX Soccer

In a tweet, former England striker Gary Lineker called it "the most ridiculous penalty decision".

Enis Bardhi took the spot-kick and saw his effort saved by England keeper Jordan Pickford.

But Bardhi then scored from the rebound after Pickford had been unable to hold onto the ball.

After the review, North Macedonia is given a penalty from a foul by Rico Lewis that sets up Enis Bardhi who finds the back of the net 🇲🇰 pic.twitter.com/d1OhZ6kWwz

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 20, 2023

England had already qualified for Euro 2024 before Monday's game, which ended 1-1.

The Three Lions equalized through an own goal scored by Jani Atanasov under pressure from Harry Kane in the 59th minute.

Kane had only entered the action as a substitute seconds earlier.

In Kane's absence, Kyle Walker had captained his country for the first time.

Highlights: North Macedonia 1-1 England