UEFA satisfied with Cucurella’s decision not to handball as Spain beat Germany at Euro 2024

July 6, 2024

UEFA is satisfied with Anthony Taylor’s decision not to award Germany a penalty in their 2-1 quarter-final defeat to Spain on Friday evening.

In the second half of extra time, with the score at 1-1, a shot by Germany’s Jamal Musiala hit Marc Cucurella on the arm in the penalty area. Taylor waved off Germany’s appeals and Mikel Merino later scored the decisive goal.

Premier League referee Taylor was heavily criticized for his refusal to award a penalty – including by national coach Julian Nagelsmann and the German media. Former German international Michael Ballack from Magenta TV spoke of a “clear wrong decision”.

“All the criteria for a penalty are met,” he added. “The arm is outstretched, a clear advantage, and yet there will be experts who see it differently.”

Taylor was also attacked for leaving the MHP Arena without commenting on the incident. German tabloid Bild noted that he left the stadium 80 minutes after the match ended and accused him of “fleeing the scene of the argument.”

The Englishman Taylor attracted the anger of many (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

Nagelsmann expressed his displeasure with the decision immediately after the game. “The penalty we got against Denmark was a much lesser penalty,” he told ARD. “I cannot understand why it was not counted, even though there were 48,000 replays.”

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However, UEFA believes the decision was correct as Cucurella’s hand was not in an unnatural position at the time of the strike, according to the refereeing guidelines published before the tournament.

In a briefing on 12 June led by Roberto Rosetti, UEFA’s chief refereeing officer, a number of examples were given of what would and would not constitute a penalty. In the example most similar to the Musiala-Cucurella incident, in which a defender was hit by the ball with his arm close to his body and in an almost vertical position, Rosetti said he did not want to see a penalty.

The decision to penalise Joachim Andersen during Germany’s round of 16 win over Denmark seemed a more serious offence, but the difference – according to UEFA guidelines – was the position of the Crystal Palace defender’s hand, which made his body appear unnaturally larger.

Taylor and Stuart Attwell, who was on duty in Stuttgart on Friday night, were also criticised for an apparent failure to review the incident, but UEFA is confident that a proper assessment took place and that the correct procedures were followed throughout the match.