Michael Ballack and others dispute referee's call in German EM game against Spain
European Football Championship - Handball debate after Germany's European Championship exit
Michael Ballack, Shkodran Mustafi, moderator Johannes B. Kerner, and referee Patrick Ittrich engaged in a heated debate during the streaming service MagentaTV following Germany's elimination from the EM against Spain. Marc Cucurella obstructed Jamal Musiala's shot in the penalty area, but English referee Anthony Taylor did not call a penalty.
Ballack's anger
"There's no clearer handball in football," Ballack exclaimed. "That's a clear mistake." He couldn't tell if Taylor and his team had made the decision out of "fear or respect." It was unclear if Niclas Füllkrug was offside during the preceding setup for Musiala.
"The situation is such that the referee must make a fair and impartial decision," Ittrich, a Bundesliga referee, stated. "We must analyze it technically: What does the player do from the referee's perspective? The player pulls his hand back during the shot." That's why the video referee (VAR) did not intervene decisively. The expert spoke of a "handball dilemma." There's "an assessment room in football."
Ballack and Mustafi couldn't accept this. "It doesn't matter if he tries to pull his hand away, he's in the way," Mustafi said. Ballack added: "It's a shooting attempt, he blocks it with a spread-out hand. What else do you want to give a penalty for?" Kerner also frequently intervened in the discussion.
No option for VAR in this case
"If you whistle, you can say that's right, that's the assessment dilemma with the handball rule," Ittrich said. "I'm not far from you, I just said that the video assistant couldn't intervene." He must "deliver images," Ittrich explained, "that convince the referee of what he has seen or not."
In the ARD, former referee Bibiana Steinhaus-Webb said: "The shot comes from a short distance and is insanely sharp. Is it an unnatural enlargement of the body surface – yes or no? The referee made the decision that it's a relatively natural movement." The video assistant couldn't support, "because it's not a clear error." She could "understand it, but believe that another decision was also possible," Steinhaus-Webb added.
- Anthony Taylor, the English referee, was the subject of dispute after not calling a hand penalty in Germany's EM game against Spain.
- The heated debate took place on the streaming service MagentaTV, involving Michael Ballack, Shkodran Mustafi, and referee Patrick Ittrich.
- Shkodran Mustafi argued that even if Marc Cucurella tried to pull his hand away, he was still obstructing Jamal Musiala's shot.
- Ballack echoed Mustafi's sentiment, stating that Cucurella blocked Musiala's shot with a spread-out hand, which warranted a penalty.
- According to referee Ittrich, the VAR (Video Assistant Referee) could not intervene decisively in this case because the images were not conclusive enough.
- Former referee Bibiana Steinhaus-Webb discussed the issue on ARD, stating that the shot came from a short distance and was insanely sharp, but the referee made the decision that it was a relatively natural movement.
- The DFB (German Football Association) national team faced elimination in the European Football Championship games against Spain.
- Niclas Füllkrug and the preceding setup for Musiala's shot were also topics of discussion, with uncertainty regarding Füllkrug's offside position.
- The debate regarding the referee's call and the handball incident continues to attract attention within the soccer community, with many fans and experts weighing in on the topic.
