In the early hours of June 22, at 3:00 AM, in the second round of Group D of the European Cup, Netherlands drew 0-0 against France. In the 68th minute of the game, Simons scored inside the penalty area, but the referee ruled the goal invalid due to Dumfries being in an offside position and affecting the goalkeeper.
Former German referee Manuel Gräfe was extremely dissatisfied with the decision, and he wrote on social media: “The Netherlands didn’t score… It’s said that it affected the goalkeeper, but the goalkeeper would only have come into contact with Dumfries, who was far from the ball, if the ball had been headed towards the far corner. For me, this was a clear and valid goal, but it’s completely incomprehensible that Taylor himself didn’t check it… Also, the offside itself is actually only for VAR, but it’s up to the referee whether VAR intervenes! At the very least, Anthony Taylor should have looked at it himself! TW wouldn’t touch the ball like that + would only react at the end of the game…”
Finally, Manuel Gräfe also posted the relevant offside rules and wrote: “The rule is very clear, Dumfries was not in the goalkeeper’s line of sight when he passed the ball, nor did he compete with the goalkeeper for the ball, nor did he make any active movement or prevent the goalkeeper from catching the ball. For me, this is perfectly normal! It’s difficult to see on the pitch from the left, but is it that difficult for VAR?!”
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