Cucurella accuses German fans of 'waste'
In the EM quarterfinals against Germany, Marc Cucurella receives a ball in the penalty area from the German fans, but the referee's whistle for a penalty kick for the DFB team remains silent. In the semifinals against France, he is sent off for this reason. He considers it a waste - for whoever blows the whistle, they can hardly enjoy football.
Spanish EM star Marc Cucurella has little understanding for the whistles of German fans against him. "Honestly, I didn't care. But at the same time, it also felt a little sad that some people came to this game just to harass a single player," the left-back of FC Chelsea said in an interview with "The Athletic". And: "Some people wasted their tickets, which could have gone to fans who would have enjoyed the game."
The 25-year-old defender with the distinctive mop-top hairstyle was whistled at every ball contact during the EM semifinal between Spain and France (2:1) in Munich by German spectators. The background is an unpunished handball in the extension of the quarterfinal match against Germany, in which the DFB team was eliminated from the tournament.
Cucurella is familiar with this experience. "In a way, I've gotten used to it when I returned to Chelsea's jersey from Brighton," he said. "That was also an evening when the boos were very loud every time I touched the ball. I wouldn't say it's an unbearable feeling, but it's unpleasant." Cucurella had switched from Brighton & Hove Albion to FC Chelsea for around 65 million euros in 2022.
His teammates had chosen stronger words after the whistle. "I think that's a shame," defender Dani Vivian said in Munich after the final qualification: "No player deserves that. I think anyone who goes to a football stadium to harass a player has no respect for the one who is working." The Spanish fans reacted to the whistles with demonstrative cheers and initiated "Cucurella" chanting for the defender several times.
In the quarterfinals against the German national team, Cucurella had been hit by a shot from Jamal Musiala. A penalty kick had not been given; Germany was eliminated with a score of 1:2 after extra time. The defender himself had said in the days between the quarterfinals and semifinals, "I'm a player and I don't get involved. I respect what the referees say." His attitude was: "If the referees say it's not handball, then I say, it's not handball."
Despite the heated quarterfinals against Germany, where a potential penalty kick for Cucurella went uncalled, leading to Germany's elimination, the Spanish defender expressed his disappointment during the European Football Championship 2024 semifinals against France as he was sent off due to a controversial incident. The German Football-Nationalteam may have had different feelings about the referee's decisions in their matches against Spain.
