Ange Postecoglou defends Michael Oliver after dubious penalty call in Germany’s Euro 2024 win over Denmark

Denmark’s Joachim Andersen was on the unfortunate end of two controversial VAR calls. (AFP via Getty Images)

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou came to referee Michael Oliver’s defence after a number of VAR decisions influenced Germany’s 2-0 victory over Denmark in the last-16 at Euro 2024.

The hosts had a goal chalked off in the first half for an infringement in the build-up before Denmark saw their only goal ruled out by the semi-automated offside technology.

To make matters worse, goalscorer Joachim Andersen was punished a couple of minutes later for handball with VAR sending Oliver to the pitchside monitor where he awarded Germany a penalty that swung the momentum of the match.

Speaking on ITV’s pundits panel alongside former players Roy Keane and Ian Wright, Postecoglou had a strong reaction to the dubious decisions but refused to put the blame on the referee saying:

“My question is that we can’t see ball contact at that disallowed goal for Andersen. How do we know that’s right? That’s my problem all along, Michael Oliver isn’t making that decision. It’s not on Michael Oliver. Technology is supposed to be definitive.

“If I hear one more person say that VAR isn’t re-refereeing a game, I will blow up. This is not on Michael Oliver, we are criticising the technology. When the offside is that tight, I don’t know why it is being looked at. If we accept that we accept other two-minute delays for other incidents.”

Keane was similarly unimpressed by the penalty decision but had no issue with Andersen being flagged offside by the technology. He added: “I’m OK with the offside. Offside is offside. I go back to the handball and I just can’t see it as a penalty.

“I’m always critical of defenders coming out defending with their hands behind their back, but I see it. I feel for defenders. That’s not the game we grew up loving. These types of decisions, people tomorrow wouldn’t be waking up saying ‘why is that not a penalty?’”

Wright said: “That as a handball will never ever sit well for me, I’m not sure why they’re going so deep into the science of it. The offside law for me has gone crazy.”

Following the match a post on Uefa’s website saught to clarify why the penalty decision was judged as handball with the statement reading:

“During the match between Germany and Denmark, connected ball technology housed inside adidas’s Fussballliebe ball showed that Denmark defender Joachim Andersen touched the ball with his hand inside the penalty area.

“In this instance, the sensor was able to record accurately the touch of the hand of the player with the surface of the ball.

“The ‘heartbeat’ of the ball shown on broadcast is the same as the referee sees during the on-field review and discerns the point of contact accurately to five-hundredths of a second.”