Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann on Friday protested his team's decision not to give the handball in their Euro 2024 quarter-final defeat to Spain, which saw the hosts crash out of the competition.
Germany equalized in the 89th minute to send the game to extra time at 1-1, only for Spain's Mikel Merino to score the winner in the 119th minute.
However, the game could have been decided differently had Germany's appeals for a penalty not been turned down after the ball hit Mark Cuccorella in extra time.
Nagelsmann criticized the decision, saying potential handball effects — stopping a shot that was supposed to be on target — should be taken into account, adding that modern technology could streamline the process.
“I don't want to talk about it too much [the handball]”But it would be nice to have an idea of what the intention is,” Nagelsmann said. In football it is not possible that if someone hits a shot in the stands, it never happens [a penalty]but when [the ball is] Obviously going to the goal and hitting, you can't talk about intention.
“You have to see where the shot is aimed. We have 50 robots bringing coffee, so there has to be an AI that calculates the crosses, the shots, where they're going. It's very simple. We You really have to guess where the shot is going, but that's not the only reason we lost the game.”
Nagelsmann congratulated Spain on their victory but was disappointed after the great efforts of his players.
“The whole game was very open, and then in the second half, we responded well with our personnel and we came into the game better,” Nagelsmann said. “And after the 60th minute, we were clearly the better team with a lot of clear-cut chances and by the end I think we deserved the goal.
“Apart from the first five minutes of the second half of extra time, I think it was just us who wanted to win.”
Despite the hosts' exit from the tournament, the manager was positive about how they qualified for Euro 2024 and said he hoped his squad could also be a unifying force in the country.
“I think what was criticized about the national team in the past, that they didn't want to win, that they didn't show enough commitment to win, I think you can see that today,” Nagelsmann said. Couldn't see even for a second.” .
“The players put everything on the pitch. I told them to take it with them, that we are a country that says a lot in many situations, takes a very dark view of many situations. “
“I hope that this symbiosis between football fans and the national team can also happen in our society, that we as a society understand that we can build something, that we can move things. “, he added.
Information from Reuters contributed to this report.