European Football Championship: Hand? Or not? An explanation of the German outrage scene

The English referee Anthony Taylor adhered to the handball guidelines of the European Football Union UEFA during the major excitement surrounding Germany’s European Championship exit.

Marc Cucurella was hit on the arm by a shot from Jamal Musiala in the penalty area during extra time, but Taylor and his team did not award a penalty. This was the direction UEFA referee chief Roberto Rosetti had set before the tournament.

The comparable example

Rosetti had shown a similar scene during a press conference shortly before the European Championship. RB Leipzig’s Castello Lukeba had received the ball in a similar way in the Champions League match against Manchester City in October 2023: from close range, on the arm that was hanging down, which also gave way when the ball was touched. “That is never a penalty,” Rosetti said of the scene. The player tries to avoid contact. The arm is close to the body in a natural position.

The ambiguities

Taylor did not comment on Friday evening, as UEFA was asked about the case. It also remained unclear on Saturday whether Niclas Füllkrug would not have been offside anyway when he made the pass to Musiala. In that case, it would not have mattered whether Cucurella’s handball was punishable or not.

This is what the national coach says

Julian Nagelsmann did not want to cite the controversial decision as a reason for the European Championship exit. But the scene did not leave the national coach alone. “If Jamal’s shot goes on goal, there is a penalty, if he goes into the stands and you can see that, then there is no penalty, that is relatively simple. He goes on goal, probably even into the goal, and there is no penalty, I cannot understand that,” said Nagelsmann, who also spoke out in favor of using new technology: “There are 50 robots that bring us coffee, then there is also AI that calculates where the cross will go.”

What the experts say

Bundesliga referee Patrick Ittrich tried to calm the debate on the streaming service MagentaTV. “You have to analyze it from a rules perspective: What is the player doing from the referee’s point of view? The player pulls his hand back from the path of the shot during the shot.” The expert spoke of a “handball dilemma.” Former international player Michael Ballack could not understand this: “That is a clear wrong decision.” He did not know whether Taylor and his team had decided against a penalty “out of fear or respect.”

Watch the video above: handball or not? In any case: out for Germany – all highlights in the video