UEFA has apparently conceded that the penalty that was not awarded following a handball by Spain's Marc Cucurella in the European Championship quarter-final between Germany and Spain (1:2 n.V.) was a wrong decision.
23.09.2024, 17:48
23.09.2024, 18:41
SDA
In this case, "a penalty should have been awarded", according to a report by the UEFA Referees' Committee, quoted by the Spanish portal "Relevo".
"Relevo published the report on Monday, which is part of a regular briefing for the top European referees. It states: "According to the latest UEFA guidelines, hand-ball contact that prevents a shot on goal should be penalized more severely and in most cases a penalty should be awarded." Exception: "The defender's arm is very close to the body or touches the body." In the case of Cucurella, however, a player "stopped the shot on goal with his arm, which is not very close to his body, so he enlarged himself".
Instead of awarding a hand penalty to the German team, English referee Anthony Taylor allowed play to continue with the score at 1-1 in extra time. The video assistant did not intervene either. Mikel Merino then scored in the 119th minute to make it 2:1 for the eventual European champions Spain.
