Laser Beam Into Schmeichel's Face At Penalty, England Crowd Condemned Collymore

A green laser beam hit the face of Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel before Harry Kane's penalty. (photo: twitter screenshot)

JAKARTA - Former England and Liverpool international Stan Collymore has called for England fans who shone a laser into Kasper Schmeichel's face before Harry Kane's penalty to be banned for life in stadiums.

The disturbance occurred, when The Three Lions were awarded a penalty kick in extra, in the Euro 2020 semifinal match at Wembley Stadium, London, Wednesday 7 July. Just before Kane stepped in to take the penalty, a laser shone on Schmeichel from somewhere in the crowd.

Despite being disturbed, the Danish goalkeeper managed to save Kane's penalty. But the ball he held mentally went straight for Kane until the England striker's feet converted the rebound into a goal.

If anyone shone a laser pen at Schmeichel, they want banning for life.

— Stan Collymore (@StanCollymore) July 7, 2021

At the treatment of the unknown spectators, supporters of both teams have brightened their anger on Twitter to condemn the man who tried to harass the Leicester goalkeeper.

"If anyone shines a laser pen at Schmeichel, they want to be banned for life", tweeted Stan Collymore.

England and other national fans also criticized supporters at Wembley, with one tweeting: 'Anyone who shines a laser pen in Kasper Schmeichel's face wants to be banned for life.'

Another added: 'Whoever shows that laser to Schmeichel's face deserves a permanent ban from Wembley and the next England game.'

Others claimed the result was unfair, with England continuing the game after Kane converted the rebound.

“A laser in Schmeichel's eye during the penalty also now I understand. It's very hard to feel that this was a fair result" one supporter wrote.

Another fan said the laser didn't affect the goalkeeper as he could still make saves but acknowledged that there was no excuse for the 'stupid' supporter.

Here you can see how the green laser is pointed at Kasper Schmeichel just before the penalty kick pic.twitter.com/6w5s43rjuY

— Rasmus Vuori (@rasmusvuori) July 7, 2021

“The laser pen incident is stupid and there is no reason/justification for it. I will ban that 'fan' for life. That said, it didn't affect Schmeichel considering he saved the penalty. However, a very bad incident".The same case occurred in the 2010 AFF Cup final where Indonesian goalkeeper Markus Harrison also received a laser attack while playing against Malaysia at the National Stadium, Bukut Jalil, Malaysia. This incident also led to the same protest from Indonesian supporters at that time.

Laser toys even claimed to have a bad effect on the eyes. BPOM in Indonesia states that the dangers of toy lasers that are used carelessly can cause serious eye injuries, even blindness. The effect can be more dangerous than staring directly at the sun.

According to Dan Hewett, health promotion officer at the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, the dangers of a toy laser that beams directly into the eye can damage the eye in an instant. Especially if the light is strong enough. In addition, the effect will also be much worse if done at night when the pupils are wide open.

Short-term exposure to laser light can cause temporary vision loss. The reason is, laser light produces heat energy that can damage eye tissue. This can happen to Schmeichel and Markus if the laser beam hits their eyes for a few moments.