UEFA acknowledges Germany's right to penalty kick

UEFA has admitted that Germany deserved a penalty kick in their Euro 2024 quarter-final against Spain, which ended in a 2-1 loss. The Spanish website Revelo reported that the UEFA Referees Committee evaluated and analyzed the refereeing in the tournament to assist the referees. The website quoted the report as saying that Spain defender Marc Cucurella touched the ball with his hand during extra time in the match held on July 5 in Stuttgart, when the score was 1-1. English referee Anthony Taylor did not award a penalty kick in that case, and there was no review by the video assistant referee, which UEFA described as a mistake. UEFA confirmed that a handball that prevents a goal must be decided upon, and in most cases a penalty kick is awarded, unless the defender's arm is very close to his body. In this case, the defender stopped the goal-scoring opportunity with his arm, which was not close to his body, which necessitated a penalty kick. Spain won the match with a goal from Mikel Morena, and Cucurella was booed by the fans during the semi-final and final matches.