Why Germany Were Not Awarded Penalty for Marc Cucurella ‘Handball’
Germany’s Euro 2024 quarter-final defeat against Spain was the greatest display of football in the biggest international competition of the summer to date. Both teams fought tooth and nail for a place in the last four of the tournament, but the host nation believed they should have been given an opportunity to win the tie in extra-time.
Dani Olmo had opened the scoring inside the opening exchanges of the second half after a pulsating back-and-forth encounter. Lamine Yamal picked out the RB Leipzig midfielder, who fired in a low drive past a despairing Manuel Neuer.
Florian Wirtz – another incredible young superstar – then volleyed home a late equaliser to send the game into extra-time after some impressive work from Joshua Kimmich. The drama then came in the added 30 minutes as Julian Nagelsmann’s side believed they should have been awarded a penalty before a last-gasp Mikel Merino header sent the host nation home.
Germany Denied Extra-Time Penalty
There were huge appeals but the hosts were denied a spot-kick
With the scoreline still level at 1-1, Bayern Munich youngster Jamal Musiala tried his luck with a long-range effort and the ball made contact with the hand of Spain’s Marc Cucurella inside the penalty area. Strong appeals from the German players were waved away by Anthony Taylor, and an explanation has now been provided for the decision not to award a spot-kick. Watch the incident here:
Difference Between ‘Handball’ Incidents
Arm position is key to UEFA’s regulations
While Nagelsmann and his players will feel aggrieved, Die Mannschaft did benefit from a contentious penalty decision in the previous round as Denmark’s Joachim Andersen was penalised for a similar incident.
Johnson also commented on the key difference between the two situations. He pointed to the rule book once more as he posted a follow-up on his initial assessment of the Cucurella incident:
