English referee Anthony Taylor hastily left the Stuttgart Arena on Friday after the German team reacted angrily to his decision not to award a penalty in Spain’s 2-1 win over the 2024 Euro hosts, according to German reports.
Spain secured their place in Tuesday’s semi-final against France, knocking Germany out of the tournament in extra time. Mikel Merino scored the winning goal in the 119th minute after Florian Wirtz had equalised in normal time with a goal from Dani Olmo.
The decisive moment of the exciting game came in the first half of extra time. when Jamal Musiala’s long-range shot hit the Spanish defender’s hand Marc Cucurella.
Despite passionate appeals from Julian Nagelsmann’s side, Taylor decided not to award a penalty, which was a assisted by video assistant referee Stuart Attwell.
According to German newspaper Bild, Nagelsmann’s assistant coach Sandro Wagner was seen storming into Taylor’s dressing room after the game and “loudly insulting” the referee. However, sources close to Taylor have denied the report.
The German team reacted angrily to Anthony Taylor’s decision not to award the team a penalty in their 2-1 loss to Spain on Friday, loudly abusing the referee in his dressing room after the match.
Jamal Musiala’s shot hit the hand of Spaniard Marc Cucurella in the penalty area during extra time
The German players immediately asked Taylor to award a penalty – but it was not given.
Sources close to Taylor say that although there was a conversation, there was no “swearing or aggression”. Instead, the parties involved in the discussion talked about why the handball was not given, repeating what UEFA had explained in its pre-tournament briefing.
Just over an hour after the final whistle, Taylor was photographed leaving the stadium in a black Mercedes.
German newspaper Bild, visibly angry at Taylor’s decision, claims the referee then “fled” the stadium and stressed that it was “interesting” that he did not stay to explain his decision.
Nagelsmann was furious after the game: “That was not deserved today and the referee whistled a little in Spain’s favor,” said Nagelsmann. “It was a clear penalty.”
“When the ball is clearly heading towards the goal, the Spaniard stops the ball with his hand. He doesn’t do it on purpose, but that doesn’t matter.”
“The penalty we got against Denmark was a much lesser penalty. I cannot understand why it was not counted, even though there were 48,000 replays.”
Germany’s anger drew comparisons with José Mourinho’s anger at Taylor after Roma’s defeat in the 2023 Europa League final against Sevilla.
Germany’s assistant coach Sandro Wagner stormed Taylor’s dressing room after the game
The young Florian Wirtz also called for a penalty in extra time.
Jose Mourinho angrily confronted Taylor in a car park after the 2023 Europa League final
Mourinho called the English referee a “bloody disgrace” after the match for his “idiotic decisions” and confronted him in an extraordinary argument at the Puskas Arena.
While waiting for him in the car park, Mourinho told Taylor to “fuck off” and called him a “fucking disgrace” before stomping towards the team’s minibus.
Mourinho’s home country Portugal was eliminated from the 2024 European Championship after Germany’s bitter defeat on penalties, as Joao Felix missed the decisive penalty in the quarter-finals.
