Romania livid as goalkeeper hampered by trainers on pitch while Netherlands score
Romania were left furious after their goalkeeper was forced to remove TRAINERS from his penalty area shortly before their Euro 2024 exit.
Romania lost 3-0 against the Dutch on Tuesday evening, sealing their elimination. Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo got his side up and running. Borussia Dortmund star Donyell Malen then seized centre-stage with a brace. His second was a brilliant solo effort.
But there were complaints from Romania about the nature of the strike. Goalkeeper Florin Niță was forced to move a pair of trainers from his penalty area before the goal, which appeared to have been thrown from the stads.
He decided to kick the footwear away before getting into position ready for Malen’s effort. Unfortunately, he could do nothing about the goal-bound strike.
Niță’s intervention was a topic of conversation among the pundits after the game. BBC commentator Steve Wilson said: "Not helped by the trainers of the pitch invader."
During his analysis, Gary Lineker also said: "I love how the goalkeeper kicks one of the trainers away before before he tries to make the save,” to which Ashley Williams replied: "If only he had kicked the ball away that well."
The trainers had appeared to have come from the Romania side of the stadium. It was the second crowd-based incident of the match, with an individual also invading the pitch in the 90th minute.
In the end, the incident proved to be inconsequential as the Netherlands progressed with ease. It sees them tee up a quarter-final meeting with either Austria or Turkey in Berlin on Saturday.
Donyell Malen
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"I'm glad I could help the team, I'm glad we won," Netherlands forward Malen said after his brace. "In the dressing room there's a bit of music, maybe we'll have a drink. You have to think about it from both sides, when you lose you feel bad, so it's nice to win."
Fellow goalscorer Gakpo also shared his view of the victory. He said: "We played a good game -- we showed a good reaction from the last match and I'm very pleased... We took a step in the right direction today.
"It's all about aggression and intensity and defending like a team and I think it was a good step and an important one."
Gakpo is now the joint top scorer currently in the Euros alongside Jamal Musiala, Georges Mikautadze and Ivan Schranz. Only him and Musiala remain in the tournament of the current front-runners. Hosts Germany take on Spain in the first of the quarter-finals on Friday evening.
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