Denmark defender Joachim Andersen publicly vented his frustration after he was on the receiving end of two controversial VAR decisions in Germany’s 2-0 victory over the Danes, which resulted in the latter’s Euro 2024 Round of 16 exit.
On Saturday evening, goals from Jamal Musiala and Kai Havertz saw the home nation become the first to secure passage into the competition’s quarter-finals – but a duo of decisions, both of which revolved around Andersen, thwarted Kasper Hjulmand’s side’s chances of winning.
Incredibly, Denmark thought they had broken the deadlock through their centre-half, but the goal was disallowed for a tight offside in the build-up. Then, he gave away a penalty, which Havertz duly converted, after the ball struck his arm from David Raum’s close-range cross.
Andersen’s Explosive Post-Match Rant
‘It was crazy and not a penalty at all’
Just mere minutes after his goal was chalked off, Andersen was penalised inside his own 18-yard box as Raum’s cross clipped the fingers of the 36-cap Denmark international.
Michael Oliver’s initial decision was ‘no penalty’ but shortly after being advised to monitor the incident himself, the man in black pointed to the spot and Die Mannschaft pounced at their opportunity to gain the lead.
“For me, that’s never a penalty. They come every season to describe the rules for us. And now, for two years, that will never ever be a penalty. If you’ve seen the Premier League for the last two years, there’s not been one decision where we’ve had a pen given in this situation.
“It was crazy and not a penalty at all. I can’t run around with my arms behind my back and play football. He’s [Raum] half a metre away from me and hits the ball on my hands, so I can’t see what I could do to prevent it.”
The Crystal Palace skipper also delved into the decision to disallow his goal. As alluded to, Andersen fired home, past Manuel Neuer, to give him and his compatriots a glimmer of hope – but the goal was ruled out after the semi-automated offside system showed that part of Thomas Delaney’s foot was offside in the build-up.
He said: “The offside call is also difficult to see. It’s so minimal that you really have to look for it. But the handball call is the craziest I’ve ever seen.”
Although Andersen was front and centre of the controversy in Dortmund, both skipper Kasper Schmeichel and boss Kasper Hjulmand have spoken out in the wake of their loss, both furious about how the game was officiated by Oliver and Co.
Gracious in defeat, Denmark boss Hjulmand congratulated his German counterpart and his team before insisting that he is tired of the handball rule – one which he labelled as ‘ridiculous’. He said:
“I have the picture on my phone here. It is offside by one centimetre. And I am so tired of the ridiculous handball rule. We cannot make our defenders run with their hands behind their back.”
Equally annoyed, the glovesman said: “I think it’s a mixture of disappointment, anger, rage – a bit of everything at the moment. I’ve played professionally for 23 years, I still don’t know the rules yet. The offside’s the offside. It can be over the line, it can’t be just a little bit over the line. It is what it is.”
