"I wet my pants" - Cucurella on quarter finals handball against Germany

Three months after being crowned European champion with Spain, Marc Cucurella spoke about the famous handball incident in the quater-finals of the Euros, as 'La Roja' edged past hosts Germany in extra-time. The controversial moment occured as Jamal Musiala's shot from range struck Cucurella's left hand. Premier League referee Anthony Taylor was quick to reject the Germans' appeal for a penalty and with no intervention from the VAR, the hosts had no choice but to keep on playing. 

"Mamma mia, what a shock," the defender said as he spoke to Italian outlet 'Gazzetta dello Sport'. "I wet my pants. I looked at the referee and saw him say firmly: 'No penalty!' I told myself, 'Relax', but I couldn't do that until the game resumed." However, the decision was later reviewed in September, two months after the torunament had ended, as UEFA's Referee Committee declared that Germany should have been awarded the penalty. "Now they come and say it was a penalty," Cucurella added. "Who benefits from that?"

The intial decision was heavily criticised by the opponents, with many in Germany still upset about the outcome of the game to this day. Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann was furious himself, as he voiced his frustration post-match. "I don't understand why we don’t take into account what is happening with the ball," he admitted. "If Musiala kicks it towards Stuttgart centre and it hits the hand, I won't say anything. But it was going towards goal. And for me, you should look at where it is going. Is it going into the clouds or is it going in the goal?"

"In one case it is a penalty, in the other it is not. If it is going into the stands, then it is no penalty. The rule should be simpler. You can't talk about intentions. You have to see where the ball is aimed. We have 50 robots that bring us our coffee so there should be an AI that calculates where the ball is going," Nagelsmann concluded.

 

October 13, 2024