Denmark star Schmeichel rages at VAR and admits he ‘still doesn’t know the rules yet’ after controversial Euro 2024 exit
KASPER SCHMEICHEL raged at VAR after Denmark’s elimination from Euro 2024 yesterday.
The Dane’s thought they had taken the lead against hosts Germany after a shock Joachim Andersen opener.
But the goal was ruled out for a fractional offside for Thomas Delaney in the build-up.
Their misery was then compounded immediately when a penalty was awarded down the other end for an Andersen handball.
The handball didn’t look immediately obvious but VAR stepped in and summoned Michael Oliver to the monitor.
He then gave a penalty for Germany which Kai Havertz converted to make it 1-0, and Jamal Musiala added Germany’s second with just over 20 minutes to go.
The infamous ‘snickometer’ was used to show the ball had struck Andersen’s hand after it was blasted at him from close range by Florian Wirtz.
Speaking after the game, Schmeichel, 37, was asked to sum up his feelings and said: “It’s a mixture of disappointment, anger, rage, a bit of everything at the moment.
When asked to expand, he referred to the VAR decisions and said: “This is football nowadays, I’ve played football 23 years and still don’t know the rules yet.
He was especially aggrieved about the penalty decision and said: “I’m not sure what a player is meant to do when he is running, and the ball is whacked at his hand from a yard away.
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“Not really sure what he’s supposed to do with his arm but there was definitely a sense that the margins were on their side today.”
He then said: “I’m not sure football and common sense go together anymore.”
Crystal Palace defender Andersen could not contain his frustration after the game either, saying: “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 half a metre away from me and hits the ball on my hand, so I can’t see what I could do to prevent it.”
And Denmark boss Kasper Hjulmand also couldn’t contain his rage after the game, saying: “It was decided by VAR decisions. I have a photo here, It was one centimetre (the offside).
“It doesn’t make sense. This is not how we are supposed to be using VAR. It’s one centimeter.
“Then there was the penalty. I’m so tired of the ridiculous handball rules.
“We can’t require our defenders to be running with their hands by their sides. It’s not natural.
“Joachim was running normally. He jumps up and he is hit from one metre.I rarely talk about these decisions.
“But they were decisive for this game. It’s frustrating. Being in front 1-0 would have changed everything for our team.”
The game was also paused in the first-half due to a thunderstorm, in unusual scenes in Germany.
Players were rushed off the pitch after a tremendous lightning strike saw the heavens open with heavy rain.