The Netherlands were denied a Euro 2024 victory over France as a Xavi Simons strike was ruled out by VAR.
The Dutch winger thought that he had put his country 1-0 up with a right-footed effort which whizzed past Mike Maignon, but his celebrations were cut short.
After finding the net, Anthony Taylor cut their euphoria short with VAR intervening to assess a potential offside.
This was due to Denzel Dumfries standing in front of Maignan.
While the Inter Milan defender didn’t touch the ball, VAR ruled that his presence interfered with play with Maignan’s movement limited by his presence.
As a result, the goal was chalked off by Premier League referee Anthony Taylor, much to France’s relief.
Discussing the decision post-match, Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman said: “The position of Dumfries is offside, that’s true, but he isn’t disturbing the goalkeeper. It’s a legal goal.
“And you need five minutes to check it? I don’t understand this.
“Once again, he’s not disturbing the goalkeeper.”
Emmanuel Petit was on co-commentary duty for talkSPORT and said: “I’m happy for my team, but it’s not fair.
IFAB offside laws
According to the IFAB Laws of the Game:
A player in an offside position at the moment the ball is played or touched* by a teammate is only penalised on becoming involved in active play by:
Interfering with play by playing or touching a ball passed or touched by a team-mate or
Interfering with an opponent by:
Preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent’s line of vision or challenging an opponent for the ball or
Clearly attempting to play a ball which is close when this action impacts on an opponent or
Making an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball
*The first point of contact of the ‘play’ or ‘touch’ of the ball should be used.
“It’s a bad decision? I think so, yeah. The rules are about interpretation all the time.”
The decision came after the lengthy VAR check conducted by fellow Premier League official Stuart Attwell, with fans fuming at the amount of time it took.
One fan said: “Shock, the longest VAR is Stuart Atwell.”
Another said: “Stuart Attwell sticking to Premier League principles by taking forever to make that VAR call.”
While this fan said: “Every single decision at the Euros was made accurately and quickly then they got Stuart Attwell on VAR.”
A fourth supporter wrote: “Hardly a surprise that probably the worst decision and the worst use of VAR at the Euros came from Anthony Taylor and Stuart Attwell.”
Meanwhile another said: “Worst VAR decision so far – had to be made by Stuart Attwell! The Dutch were robbed.”
While France dominated, they couldn’t capitalise on a number of chances that fell to Antoine Griezmann.
As a result, both France and the Netherlands have four points with one match remaining in Group D.
News Summary:
- English officials slammed as Emmanuel Petit admits France were ‘lucky’ Netherlands goal was disallowed by VAR
- Check all news and articles from the latest Football updates.