Spain won Euro 2024 by defeating England 2-1 with goals from Nico Williams and Oyarzabal enough to secure the win despite Cole Palmer scoring for the Three Lions.
However, Spain might have not made an appearance in the final if a referee decision had gone against them during their quarterfinal clash against Germany.
Germany were knocked out of the tournament they hosted after Spanish midfielder Mikel Merino scored the winning goal in the last minute of extra time, taking the scoreline to 2-1.
But during the second half while the score remained 1-1 a shot Jamal Musiala was blocked by the outreached arm of defender Marc Cucurella but, despite the use of VAR, no penalty was awarded.
Spain’s defender Marc Cucurella blocks a shot with the hand by Germany’s midfielder #10 Jamal Musiala during the UEFA Euro 2024 quarter-final football match between Spain and Germany (Photo by THOMAS KIENZLE / AFP) (Photo by THOMAS KIENZLE/AFP via Getty Images)
UEFA has now released a statement confirming that an error was made by the officiating officials in that match. The statement confirms that this was a mistake and Germany should have been awarded a penalty.
The statement reads: “Following the latest UEFA guidelines, hand-to-ball contact that stops a shot on goal should be punished more strictly, and in most cases a penalty kick should be awarded, unless the defender’s arm is very close to the body or in contact with the body. In this case [Cucurella], the defender stops the shot on goal with his arm, which is not very close to the body, making himself bigger, so a penalty kick should have been awarded.”
Germany manager Nagelsmann revealed after the game that he had no qualms with the decision based on the current rules, but did feel as though change had to be made.
It’s left to see how the former Bayern Munich manager will react to UEFA statement as Germany continues their rebuilding process.
