- Denmark was eliminated from Euro 2024 after a controversial defeat against Germany
- Joachim Andersen saw a goal disallowed before being penalized for a handball
- Listen to It’s all starting! EURO DIARY: Is Gareth Southgate’s LACK of ego a strength or a weakness for England?
Joachim Andersen has unleashed a furious rant on VAR after two controversial decisions against Denmark in their 2-0 defeat to Germany at Euro 2024.
The tournament hosts booked their place in the quarter-finals after second-half goals from Kai Havertz and Jamal Musiala, but technology grabbed the headlines after ruling out Andersen’s goal and then penalising him for handball inside the box.
The defender appeared to have touched the underdogs shortly after the restart, but his attempt was ruled out by Thomas Delaney for offside. Replays of the semi-automatic offside system revealed that he had gone offside by a small fraction.
A few minutes later, Andersen conceded a penalty after David Raum’s cross touched his arm. Referee Michael Oliver initially rejected the appeals but later pointed to the spot after being advised to review the incident on his monitor.
Havertz then advanced and beat goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel from 12 yards.
Joachim Andersen has hit out at VAR after Denmark’s 2-0 defeat to Germany at Euro 2024
Andersen seemed to have put the Danes ahead, but his goal was disallowed for a tight offside.
Moments later, the defender was penalized for handball inside his own area.
Speaking after the match, Andersen expressed his anger at the two divisive incidents.
“It was crazy and it wasn’t a penalty at all. I can’t run with my arms behind my back and play football,” the centre-back told TV2.
‘He (Raum) is half a metre away from me and he hits the ball into my hand, so I don’t see what I could do to stop him.’
On the disallowed goal, he added: “The offside is also difficult to see. It is so small that you really have to look for it.”
“But the handball decision was the craziest I have ever seen. The margins decided the game. If we had been allowed to score, I am convinced that we would have won the match.”
Andersen unleashed a furious tirade against the technology, calling the handshake call “insane.”
Referee Michael Oliver pointed out the spot after being advised to watch replays of the handball.
Jamal Musiala’s goal doubled Germany’s lead and secured a place in the quarterfinals
Asked if he had spoken to referee Oliver after decisions, Andersen said: “You can’t talk to referees these days.”
Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou echoed Andersen’s thoughts on the pundits’ duties at ITV, insisting that VAR has too much influence during matches.
“If I hear one more person say that VAR is not going to referee the match again, I will explode,” said Postecoglou, a vocal critic of the technology.
“Seriously, that’s exactly what they do. That’s not why we introduced the technology, for that decision, to me it’s a pretty easy decision.”
Meanwhile, an irritated Schmeichel admitted that he does not understand the rules of the handball game.
“That’s football today,” he told ITV. “I’ve been playing professionally for 23 years and I still don’t know the rules.”
