Jose Mourinho claims Denmark decision cost England a penalty in Euro 2020 final

Jose Mourinho has suggested that the backlash to Raheem Sterling's supposed 'dive' against Denmark harmed England's chances of winning a penalty in the Euro 2020 final.

The Three Lions suffered penalty heartbreak against Italy, as Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka missed in the shootout.

England were leading from the second minute of normal time, when Mourinho's old foe, Luke Shaw crashed in a stylish volley.

But the Azzurri grew into the game and richly deserved their equaliser by the time Leonardo Bonucci actually scored it.

But minutes before Bonucci's goal, England felt they could have been awarded a penalty when the central defender appeared to bring Sterling down.

Bjorn Kuipers waved away protests and despite replays showing some contact, the VAR opted to uphold the on-field decision.

And Mourinho, who criticised Sterling after he went down for a penalty in the semi-final, believes the "pressure" regarding the supposed simulation played a factor in the decision making process.

"England could have had a penalty to go 2-0 up when Raheem Sterling was challenged by Leonardo Bonucci early in the second half of the final," Mourinho told the Sun.

For me, it was more of a penalty than the one awarded when Sterling went down in extra-time in the semi-final.

"If that one hadn't been given against Denmark, and all the pressure that arrived after that, then it possibly would have been a penalty in the final — and at 2-0 we would be speaking about a completely different story."

Mourinho's verdict comes as a petition for England's defeat to Italy to be replayed, reaches more than 100,000 signatures.

A bizarre change.org petition to replay the match was started on the grounds that it apparently "was not fair at all", with an image of Giorgio Chiellini's now infamous foul on Saka - which the Italian defender was booked for - used to highlight this apparent unfairness.

Gareth Southgate levelled no negative feedback towards the referee, instead choosing to highlight his own side's bravery in reaching the final.

Mourinho added that rather than England playing negatively, it was more a case of Italy's dominance that was the deciding factor.

"As a coach, it's hard for me to believe that the English coaching staff told the players 'stay in a low block, don't leave the low block, we don't need to counter-attack, we don't need the ball, just defend for 45 minutes and we are going to be champions'.

"People said similar things about Tottenham in some matches last season but it wasn't true.

"Italy just kept the ball, passed the ball, hid the ball, took off their striker and played with an extra midfielder."