Germany penalty labelled 'ridiculous' as Denmark boss explodes over VAR controversy

Denmark boss Kasper Hjulmand lost his cool over football's "ridiculous" handball rules after his side were dumped out of Euro 2024 in merciless fashion by hosts Germany.

The Danes were left to lick their wounds following two highly-contentious VAR calls within the space of two minutes.

Crystal Palace centre-back Joachim Andersen had fired Denmark ahead on 48 minutes but the goal was chalked off because Thomas Delaney's toe was flagged offside. Then Andersen gave away a penalty one minute later for handling David Raum's cross and Kai Havertz fired home from 12 yards. Jamal Musiala then made sure of the victory in the 68th minute.

Hjulmand said during his post-match press conference, while pointing to a screenshot of the incident on his phone: "First of all I would like to congratulate Germany with this win. We were pressured the first 15 minutes, it was pure survival.

"After then it was an equal game - it was decided by two VAR decisions. I have the photo here, it was one centimetre. In terms of data, it doesn't make sense, this is not how we should be using VAR.

"After a few minutes there was a penalty, I am so tired of the ridiculous handball rules. We cannot require our defenders to be running like this, it's not natural. He jumped up and was hit from one metre. I rarely talk about these decisions but it was very decisive for this game."

Denmark midfielder Delaney later said: "Throughout the game we worked our way into it and then suddenly it is my little toe offside and then the handball.

"It goes fast in modern football with VAR. For us Danes it is the pride of wearing the jersey. It is always emotional and it is more emotional than the average game. We didn't give back a victory to the fans and the families at home - that is a tough one."

Kai Havertz

The game was called to a halt on 35 minutes due to thunder and lightning. The decision was later praised by Hjulmand, who knows about the dangers of adverse weather after his former Nordsjaelland player Jonathan Richter lost part of his leg in 2009.

He said: "I was at a match that hit one of my players with lightning, and the lightning here was right over Signal Iduna Park. I think it was the right thing to do to call it off [means pause it]."

Germany will now face Spain or Georgia in Stuttgart for a place in the semi-finals.

Join our new WhatsApp community! Click this link to receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.