Oh, bother: Germany players, coach Julian Nagelsmann irate with referee after Nations League draw vs. Netherlands

It is never ideal when refereeing becomes the story of a match, but that proved unavoidable in Tuesday’s 2-2 draw between Germany and the Netherlands in UEFA Nations League action.

Germany was in the middle of a promising attack when the final whistle blew — to the palpable disbelief of its players as well as manager Julian Nagelsmann. Italian referee Davide Massa was immediately swarmed with protestations over the result, as captured by Twitter account @iMiaSanMia:

Although it occurred shortly after the allotted minimum three minutes of extra time were up, the final whistle is usually reserved for a clearer stoppage of play — as clearly the Germans expected. Tensions were up, too, after the match — a brawling, physical affair — ended with four yellow cards for the Germans and none for the Dutch.

Nagelsmann did not shy away from commenting on the situation in the post-match press conference.

“We had a great chance taken away in the last second when we were running towards the goal alone. I don’t quite understand it,” Nagelsmann said in comments captured via @iMiaSanMia before addressing a separate German penalty claim as well. “A clear penalty. [Dutch winger Xavi] Simons clearly came too late and hit Jamal [Musiala] on the foot. I don’t think we can disagree on that. If it were in midfield, you’re guaranteed to get a foul for that.”

Musiala was fouled and manhandled throughout the match, but that is nothing new for the slippery Bayern attacker. At one point the Bayern Munich star went down after contact, falling onto the ball — only to be whistled for a free kick the other way. But though he vented his frustrations on the pitch, the 21-year-old was determined to stay out of the fray afterwards.

“I don’t want to talk a lot about the referee in front of the camera. But I felt many decisions didn’t go our way today. We have to look at ourselves and make sure we improve,” Musiala said in his post-game remarks (as also captured by @iMiaSanMia).

What did you think? How was the refereeing in this one?