EM 2024 - Handball Spaniard Cucurella booed every time he touched the ball in Munich
Marc Cucurella and German football fans may not be friends for long. During the EURO semi-final match against France in Munich, the Spanish left-back was mercilessly booed by German fans every time he had ball contact – apparently from spectators in the stadium.
Cucurella had defended against a shot from Jamal Musiala in the extra time of the penalty area with his arm in the quarter-final against Germany. English referee Anthony Taylor and his team did not call for a penalty. Experts are divided on the correctness of the decision.
Was it a handball or not?
A potential penalty would have been a big opportunity for Germany to take the lead. Shortly afterwards, in the 119th minute of extra time, Mikel Merino scored the 2:1 for Spain. Germany was eliminated and had to bury their dream of the title at home EURO. In the following days, discussions about the alleged foul play escalated and culminated in a petition to replay the game on change.org. The completely hopeless endeavor still managed to gather over 500,000 signatures.
Marc Cucurella reacted with humor to discussions
Two days after the game, Cucurella reacted to the discussions about the scene with humor. "I'm a player," said the 25-year-old. "If the referees say it's not a handball, then as a player I respect that," Cucurella explained and laughed. When asked about referee experts who also did not value the scene as a handball, he said, "If you tell me the referee experts say it's not a handball, then it's not a handball."
Spain fans in the Allianz Arena tried to support their defender. They reacted with Cucurella chants to the constant whistles.
Despite the controversial incident during the EURO semifinal against Spain, Germany and Spain fans will likely face each other in future international matches, given their participation in international competitions. In the 2022 UEFA Nations League, both Spain and Germany are in Group A4, setting up the possibility for a rematch.
Following their semifinal encounter, Italy and Spain will meet in the EURO final, with Germany and England facing off in the third-place match in Munich.
