After being knocked out of the EURO

“Totally bizarre!” Nagelsmann calls for rule reform

Julian Nagelsmann is hoping for a change in the rules.(Bild: AFP or licensors)

The penalty that was not awarded after the European Championship quarter-final between Spain and Germany (2:1 after extra time) provides plenty of material for discussion. Germany team boss Julian Nagelsmann is now even calling for a reform of the rules.

"I've been trying for years to include in all kinds of referee reviews why you don't assess what happens in a handball situation," Nagelsmann emphasized to ARD after the game. "If Jamal kicks the ball into the middle of the park, then I don't want a penalty for that."

Julian Nagelsmann hopes for a rule change.(Bild: AFP or licensors)

In the 106th minute, Jamal Musiala hit Spain's Marc Cucurella on the forearm in the penalty area. But referee Anthony Taylor did not award a penalty and the VAR did not intervene. "When the ball goes towards the goal, he stops it with his hand. That's just a fact, you can see that. He doesn't do it on purpose, but that doesn't matter either," said Nagelsmann, who finds it "totally bizarre" that "the intention of the action is not assessed". It's all about: "Is the ball on the hand or not?"

"I can't understand that"
 Nagelsmann shakes his head: "I honestly can't understand why we can't get that into soccer, to assess where the ball goes when I have 48,000 replays." While Spain can continue to dream of the title, Germany's "summer fairytale 2.0" came to a dramatic end.