According to German newspaper Bild, English referee Anthony Taylor, who officiated the Germany-Spain match, has returned home and will not referee the upcoming Euro final. The German media have used the headline “Scandalous referee returns home.”
Taylor became the focal point of the Germany-Spain match, particularly during extra time. Despite Spanish player Alejandro Balde’s handball in the penalty area, Taylor did not award a penalty, a decision that sparked strong dissatisfaction from the German team. Spain subsequently scored the winning goal, defeating Germany 2-1 and advancing to the semi-finals.
German fans and media expressed extreme displeasure with the penalty decision, with fans launching an online petition calling for the match to be replayed, a move that garnered hundreds of thousands of signatures. However, Taylor’s penalty decision was officially upheld, though he will not continue refereeing duties in the remaining matches of this European Championship.
This is not the first time Taylor has been embroiled in controversy. Earlier in the group stage match between France and the Netherlands, he ruled out a goal by Xavi Simons, claiming that Denzel Dumfries was in an offside position.
According to past practice, when a referee’s country reaches the semi-finals, they generally end their officiating duties, but this is not a hard-and-fast rule.
The upcoming semi-finals will be officiated by other referee teams. The England-Netherlands match will be refereed by German referee Felix Zwayer (43 years old), while the Spain-France matchup will be overseen by Slovenian referee Slavko Vinčić (44 years old).
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, the potential referees for the Euro final include Italy’s Daniele Orsato (48 years old) and Poland’s Szymon Marciniak (43 years old). Both referees have experience officiating major tournament finals: Orsato was the main referee for the 2020 Champions League final, witnessing the clash between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain; while Marciniak officiated the 2022 World Cup final, where Argentina defeated France on penalties.
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