Friday evening’s Euro 2024 Group D clash between France and the Netherlands saw the competition’s most controversial refereeing moment so far, with two English officials at the heart of it.
The two European heavyweights would end up playing out what was largely an uninspiring clash in Leipzig that ended up as the first goalless European Championship draw since England and Scotland’s blank at Euro 2020.
But there was one key moment of controversy when a Dutch goal was chalked off for offside.
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The incident came in the 69th minute when Xavi Simons lashed the ball into the back of the net from outside the box. After a wild celebration, the Dutch players saw the flag was up before a lengthy VAR check by Stuart Attwell began.
The check centred around whether or not Denzel Dumfries was interfering with goalkeeper Mike Maignan as the ball went past the pair, with Attwell ultimately deciding it should not stand, with the VAR declining to give referee Anthony Taylor the opportunity to go to the monitor.
The disallowed goal proved to be the big talking point of the night, with BBC pundits Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney and Cesc Fabregas all agreeing that Dumfries was not in Maignan’s way and that Attwell should have let Taylor assess the incident on the pitchside monitor, at the very least.
“I think France have been very fortunate here,” Shearer began. “When you see the angle from behind the goal, clearly the goalkeeper because of his body position, because of where his legs are and how wide they are, but you can see how far Dumfries is away from the keeper, but when we freeze it again, the goalkeeper cannot dive for that now.
“That body position he’s in now, the goalkeeper cannot dive and he’s not getting to that ball. And Dumfries is not affecting him at all.”
Rooney agreed, adding that the length of the delay also left him frustrated.
The Dutch think they have taken the lead but after a lengthy VAR check from the English officials, the goal is ruled out.❌What did you make of it? #BBCEuros #Euro2024 #NEDFRA pic.twitter.com/spedGxVOjWJune 21, 2024
“I think it’s a goal,” the former England and Manchester United striker said. “Firstly the defenders are blocking his view, and then he actually does make a small attempt to get the ball but that’s the best he can do. There’s no way that should be disallowed in my opinion. I think it’s a goal, it’s frustrating the amount of time it took.”
This view was echoed by Fabregas who added the panel’s third complaint in Attwell not allowing Taylor to revisit the monitor.
“I think we have to question a little bit here the referee, the VAR,” he said. “I think you can maybe have seen it a different way because everything happens very very fast, but the VAR should have called him up to watch the screen at least for him to make the right decision.”
The draw meant that Poland became the first team to be knocked out of Euro 2024, with France and the Netherlands both sitting on four points in Group D and in a strong position to make the knockout stages.
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