"We were cheated!": Matthäus furious after EM confession - Kroos mocks UEFA

EXPRESS "We were cheated!": Matthäus furious after EM confession - Kroos mocks UEFA Article by Philipp Stegemann (pst) • 14 hours • 2 minutes reading time Selected games Sept. 28 Lothar Matthäus, here on September 17, 2024, is furious about UEFA's belated admission of guilt. Even months after the German national team's unfortunate elimination at the home European Championship against eventual European champions Spain, the discussion about the alleged penalty in extra time continues. In the 107th minute of the game, Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella (26) blocked a shot on goal by DFB shooting star Jamal Musiala (21) with his left hand. Both referee Anthony Taylor (45) and the VAR judged the action to be unpunishable and denied Julian Nagelsmann's (37) team the requested penalty. Following the controversial situation, Mikel Merino (28) scored with a header to make it 2-1 for Spain, thus sealing Germany's elimination. "It's a disgrace that it's being admitted now" Now, however, almost three months after the European Championship quarter-final match, UEFA has admitted that the penalty situation was judged incorrectly. According to the Spanish platform "Relevo", the referee commission has now informed the international referees of this in an internal letter. In addition to many thousands of football fans, the European football association's late insight has also angered DFB greats from the recent and older past. The German national team's record international player, Lothar Matthäus (63), had already become agitated during the match in his role as a TV expert, but backtracked on the following days and accepted the decision. "I immediately said: clear penalty! Then the next day the news came that there had been an instruction from the UEFA referee chairman not to give a penalty if the arm was hanging loosely. That's why I said that the decision not to give a penalty was understandable," Matthäus explained to "Bild" about his change of heart at the time. He continued: "But today the question arises: was this instruction never actually given? To clarify this, I would be interested in the statements of the referee and the VAR.” The 63-year-old could hardly contain his rage and continued to rail against UEFA: “If it is true that UEFA now admits that it was a wrong decision - then we have obviously been deceived! Then the alleged instruction was just an excuse. It is actually a disgrace that it is now being admitted what everyone saw back then.” The record international player was not the only German football star to comment on the new developments surrounding the handball penalty that was not given. On the sidelines of his small-field league “Icon League”, Toni Kroos (34), who ended his career in the summer after the game against Spain, explained with a good deal of sarcasm how he classifies UEFA's admission of guilt. “It has taken them three months to realise that it was handball, which almost everyone actually managed to do in a second. That reassures me immensely. But thank you, it wasn't that important, it makes me feel good. Can I now call myself European champion? Because they have now officially confirmed it. I don't think so," said the 2014 world champion. The DFB has not yet made any public statement on the current events. Before commenting on the developments, they want UEFA to confirm the reports from Spain.