Referee criticized for denying Netherlands a valid goal

Highlight France 0-0 Netherlands

"It's true that Dumfries was offside. But he didn't affect the French goalkeeper. So in my opinion it was a valid goal," coach Ronald Koeman said at a press conference after the goalless draw between the Netherlands and France in the early morning of June 22 (Vietnam time).

Accordingly, midfielder Xavi Simons' second-half goal was disallowed because defender Denzel Dumfries was in an offside position next to goalkeeper Mike Maignan.

The referee took 5 minutes to make his decision after receiving help from the VAR technology team. Notably, the English referee caused confusion by not looking at the VAR screen when making his decision.

Midfielder Xavi Simons' goal was disallowed when the referee deemed defender Denzel Dumfries to have been offside (Photo: Getty).

Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman said he reviewed the footage afterwards and completely disagreed with English referee Anthony Taylor.

"The referee needed 5 minutes to check because it was too difficult? I don't understand this. He didn't affect the goalkeeper so the goal should have been counted for us," the Dutch strategist affirmed.

The match between the Netherlands and France then ended blandly with no goals scored and this is the only match with a 0-0 draw at Euro 2024 so far. Both the Netherlands and France are almost certain to qualify for the round of 16 with 4 points after two matches.

Coach Koeman talks with referee Anthony Taylor after the match (Photo: Reuters).

"Although I think the goal should have been there, it was still a fair result. I can accept that, although there were times in the game when we couldn't get ahead and that was probably because we were up against a great team like France.

But we have four points after two games and we played against strong teams. You might say the Netherlands played boringly because they were cautious in defense. But I have the feeling that France were also happy to leave the field with a point," coach Ronaldo Koeman concluded.

Netherlands captain Virgil van Diyk also said the goal should have been for his side.

"Our goal was valid from what I could see from behind. France had their chances but we also had one or two counter-attacking chances.

This match, the Netherlands showed a positive performance, we got a point and now we go through. It's all still in our hands," Van Dijk said.

Vietnamese football fans can enjoy the full UEFA Euro 2024 Finals for free on TV360 at: https://tv360.vn/

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/trong-tai-bi-chi-trich-vi-tuoc-ban-thang-hop-le-cua-ha-lan-20240622071208847.htm