Steve Nicol and Frank Leboeuf cannot perceive how Germany had been awarded a penalty of their 2-0 win over Denmark. (1:59)
DORTMUND, Germany — Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand hit out at “ridiculous handball guidelines” and mentioned “this isn’t how soccer needs to be” after two VAR choices within the house of two minutes towards his group helped Euro 2024 hosts Germany seal a 2-0 round-of-16 victory in Dortmund.
Premier League referee Michael Oliver dominated out a Joachim Andersen objective on 48 minutes following a VAR intervention that highlighted a marginal offside involving Denmark midfielder Thomas Delaney.
Two minutes later, Oliver awarded a penalty to Germany after VAR officers Stuart Attwell and David Coote urged him to assessment an obvious handball by Andersen from David Raum’s cross. Kai Havertz scored from the spot to place Germany 1-0 forward, and Jamal Musiala then added the hosts’ second objective later within the half.
However an offended Hjulmand questioned using VAR after the sport and famous that each choices went towards his group.
“It was determined by two VAR choices,” Hjulmand mentioned. “I’ve the photograph right here [of the Delaney offside]. It was one centimetre. It does not make sense, this isn’t how we’re purported to be utilizing VAR.
“After which after a couple of minutes, it is a penalty [to Germany]. I’m so uninterested in the ridiculous handball guidelines. We should always not require defender to be enjoying with palms like this. He [Andersen] was working usually, it is a regular scenario and he was hit with the ball from a metre away.
“I hardly ever speak about these choices, nevertheless it was very decisive for this recreation. Being in entrance at 1-0 would have been crucial and adjusted every little thing for our group.
“Good luck for Germany, however in my view, this isn’t how soccer needs to be.”
Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann admitted that he had no qualms with Hjulmand’s complaints, saying he would make the identical argument had the choice gone towards his group.
“We had a penalty and I perceive Denmark had been aggravated by it,” Nagelsmann mentioned. “It is fairly harsh, he did not do it deliberately, however that is the rule. I’d have been upset if it had occurred the opposite manner round, although.”
Regardless of the 2 essential calls going towards his group, Hjulmand mentioned he remained a supporter of using VAR.
“I at all times appreciated VAR,” he mentioned. “I believe know-how can do one thing good for the game, however in my view, when a call is sweet it needs to be seen from the moon and never rely upon a number of centimetres. It is purported to be clear and apparent.
“However when it is like this, it is a little bit questionable. It also needs to be faster. There must be a manner to enhance it.
“We have been taught in seminars so many instances to elucidate the handball rule and we’ve requested what’s a pure motion?
“After we are informed, this isn’t a pure place for handball as a result of the participant has to have his arms out to run. Simply inform me what the rule is.”
UEFA issued a press release on its web site defending the handball resolution and using know-how to detect the handball by Andersen.
“Through the match between Germany and Denmark, linked ball know-how housed inside Adidas’s Fussballliebe ball confirmed that Denmark defender Joachim Andersen touched the ball along with his hand contained in the penalty space,” UEFA mentioned.
“On this occasion, the sensor was capable of document precisely the contact of the hand of the participant with the floor of the ball.
“The ‘heartbeat’ of the ball proven on broadcast is similar because the referee sees through the on-field assessment and discerns the purpose of contact precisely to five-hundredths of a second.”
Hjulmand, in the meantime, defended referee Oliver’s resolution to take both teams off the pitch in the first half attributable to {an electrical} storm.
“I wasn’t frightened, however I used to be on the lookout for the gamers,” he mentioned. “I used to be concerned in a recreation in Denmark when the lightning hit one in all my gamers, so I understand how harmful it may be.
“The lightning was proper over the stadium, I noticed my gamers’ response and it was the precise factor to come back off.”