The real reason why Anthony Taylor denied Germany a penalty against Spain in the European Championship quarter-finals despite Marc Cucurella’s handball

Spain hit Germany in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 in a scary match. However, the result could have been different if referee Anthony Taylor had decided to award a penalty to Germany, but did not. Jamal Musiala’s shot from outside the box hit Marc Cucurellas left hand on the way to the goal. The referee rejected the penalty request even though the Spanish player was in his penalty area.

This left German fans in a frenzy as their fascinating comeback could have been rewarded with a win. However, there was a good reason why the English referee did not penalise Cucurella’s action.

Why was Germany not awarded a penalty by Anthony Taylor?

Referees usually take into account the player’s intention and hand position when awarding a penalty. In this case, Cucurella’s hand was moving towards his body and was in a vertical position, which could indicate that he did not intend to stop the ball with his hand. Therefore, due to the vertical position of his hand, the penalty might not have been given.

In the meantime, the officials decided not to re-examine the decision and discussed it at length. Although some strict rules are followed at this European Championship, this was one of the rare cases where no handball was awarded. Hand position plays a crucial role in judging handballs and in this case the Chelsea defender’s arm was pointing downwards.

Earlier, Denmark’s Joachim Andersen was penalized for holding his right hand outside his body in the match against Germany. And even though attacker David Raum was close to Anderson, the penalty was given that led to Kai Havertz’s goal. Earlier, another Englishman, Michael Oliver, on the field had the penalty denied, but the VAR took responsibility. Anderson’s arm, however, was raised to chest height and in a horizontal position. Several other decisions in the match were also under scrutiny.

Spain vs Germany: Taylor’s composure is put to the test

It was a high-intensity game between the two teams and Anthony Taylor had to make some difficult decisions. In the first five minutes, Toni Kroos brought down Pedri with a tackle and Taylor was criticised for not punishing the German with a yellow card. Spain then took Pedri off the pitch and replaced him with Dani Olmo. In another crucial moment, Taylor denied Spain a free kick after Kroos brought down Mikel Oyarzabal in the last minute of stoppage time before the start of extra time.

Both teams had their fair share of chances, however, but Spain scored the decisive goal in the 119th minute thanks to a fantastic cross from Dani Olmo, who had given them the lead earlier in the second half. Most notably, Mikel Merino scored the winning goal with a header that beat Neuer. But do you think Taylor’s verdict was correct? Let us know in the comments.