Germany’s 2-1 EURO 2024 quarterfinals loss to Spain was marked by a controversial handball no-call. Marc Cucurella’s inadvertent block of a Jamal Musiala shot in extra time has been the topic of much discussion…but would an offside in build-up have made the matter moot?
Bayern Munich forward Thomas Müller chipped a ball into the box for striker Niclas Füllkrug, who controlled it and laid it back for Musiala to shoot. On the TV replays, it looked close — but Füllkrug doesn’t feel he was offside.
And he wasn’t a fan of the decision.
“Regarding the penalty scene, I don’t think it was offside. We don’t need to discuss a wrong decision here because it’s very clear that it was a handball. That was a gross, careless mistake,” the Borussia Dortmund man said in comments captured by Bild (via @iMiaSanMia). “We can all see that the ball was going very, very dangerously towards the goal. I even think that it would’ve ended up in the net and the goalkeeper wouldn’t be able to get to it. [The VAR] not even looking at that is difficult to accept. We would have taken the lead 2-1, that would have changed everything.”
Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann echoed the sentiment.
“Some players have asked the referee. I don’t know if it was offside. I have different information as to why VAR didn’t review it. It’s not really clear. I wish that referees would look at some situations more to make themselves less vulnerable. I already said yesterday what I would like to change. We won’t get a replay anyway, so we move on,” Nagelsmann added.
And commentator Derek Rae has added this note that Füllkrug’s positioning was at least not definitely offside:
For anyone (there have been many on here) insisting with certainty Füllkrug was offside in the build up to Cucurella handling.
UEFA did not offer pictorial clarification of that supposed offside. Also, colleagues at ARD have assessed with their technology & don’t see an offside. https://t.co/KonNA8gK84— Derek Rae (@RaeComm) July 6, 2024
For anyone (there have been many on here) insisting with certainty Füllkrug was offside in the build up to Cucurella handling.
UEFA did not offer pictorial clarification of that supposed offside. Also, colleagues at ARD have assessed with their technology & don’t see an offside.
So it remains: a play that resulted in German shouts for handball, a referee who signaled that Cucurella’s arms were at his side, and a ruling that was ultimately judged correct for different reasons. It looks like it will leave a bitter taste for the German squad for some time to come.
Looking for more thoughts and analysis of Germany’s crushing 2-1 loss to Spain? We have you covered with our Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show. We have takes on Julian Nagelsmann’s controversial starting XI, a rundown of the scoring and substitutions, and ideas on how this all fell apart in front of an absolutely electric crowd. You can get the podcast on Spotify or below: