David Beckham's red card at France 98 was excessive. He shouldn't have been sent off, but Diego Simeone was clever' Javier Zanetti's World Cup 98 admission

"Few international fixtures get the pulse racing like an England vs Argentina clash. The rivalry has been fueled by a series of incidents on the pitch, such as England's controversial Geoff Hurst winner at the 1966 World Cup and then Diego Maradona's Hand of God goal two decades later, two classic matches that sandwiched the Falklands War between the two nations."

"Up there with these clashes is the France 98 last-16 clash which saw a classic Michael Owen goal, Sol Campbell's late header ruled out and an all-too-predictable England penalty defeat. You may like A teenage Owen scored a wonder goal against Argentina The other major incident that evening in Saint-Etienne was David Beckham's red card, after the former Manchester United man, who was lying face down on the floor after being fouled, swung his leg at Diego Simeone."

"“The rivalry with England goes back a long way and goes beyond football, but in the dressing room we put that social context aside, he tells FourFourTwo. Winning was crucial it was a World Cup and there was no margin for error. It was all or nothing.”"

"“If VAR had existed, both would have been reviewed and the referee would have corrected his decision, Zanetti believes. He got both wrong, but it was a different era and we had no choice but to respect his calls. After Owen's wonder-goal, the right-back himself levelled the scores in first-half stoppage time with a well-rehearsed free-kick routine. That was a studied, rehearsed move, he recalls.”"

England vs Argentina rivalry includes notable incidents such as Geoff Hurst’s controversial 1966 winner and Diego Maradona’s Hand of God in 1986. The France 98 last-16 match in Saint-Etienne featured Michael Owen’s classic goal, a late Sol Campbell header ruled out, and an England penalty defeat. David Beckham received a red card after fouling and swinging his leg at Diego Simeone. Javier Zanetti emphasized that social context was set aside in the dressing room and that winning was crucial because it was a World Cup with no margin for error. The match started with penalties scored by Gabriel Batistuta and Alan Shearer within ten minutes, and Zanetti suggested VAR would have corrected the referee’s decisions. Owen’s goal was followed by Beckham’s equalizer from a rehearsed free-kick routine.

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