German newspaper Bild labelled the failure to award a penalty for handball against Leah Williamson in Sunday’s Euro 2022 final a “scam” in the wake of England’s historic victory.
The game was still goalless in the first half when the ball appeared to strike England captain Williamson’s arm just a yard out with Germany defender Marina Hegering poised to score.
The incident was referred to the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) but deemed not worthy of a penalty or even a suggestion to the on-field referee Kateryna Monzul that she should go to the pitchside video screen to watch it again in slow motion.
Former referee Jonas Eriksson on Swedish TV coverage called it a “clear penalty” and Germany’s leading newspaper were wholehearted in their condemnation of the failure to award a spot-kick.
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“Clear handball denied! We cry with you!”
German coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg congratulated England, but followed her praise with some pointed remarks about the officiating.
“There was a clear handball, VAR looked at it but didn’t award a penalty,” Voss-Tecklenburg said.
“In such a game it is quite difficult to cope with that. I am asking myself, ‘Why didn’t the referee look it?’ That hurts a bit.
“I don’t feel cheated, that is not a word I would like to use: it’s football, there are decisions that aren’t correct. But on this level, the final for the European Championships, this shouldn’t happen. I’d like a discussion about that, why did they not look at it?
“The 2-1 was a bit unlucky. Maybe penalties should have decided it.”
The point of contention comes down to the much-discussed interpretation of the handball rule under Law 12. The specific part of the law relevant to the Williamson incident refers to a player having “has made their body unnaturally bigger” which the law defines as “when the position of their hand/arm is not a consequence of, or justifiable by, the player’s body movement for that specific situation”.
The law adds that “by having their hand/arm in such a position, the player takes a risk of their hand/arm being hit by the ball and being penalised”.
Williamson had her arm raised above her head when the ball struck it, but the VAR may have ruled that the fact the ball had cannoned off fellow England defender Millie Bright from short range was enough of a mitigating factor – although under the letter of the law, the seemingly unnatural position of the arm should not allow for mitigation.
However, play continued without interruption and England eventually triumphed in extra-time thanks to Chloe Kelly’s first ever international goal, leaving Germany distraught.
“For us, it was a bit ambivalent, a lot of pride, and it was incredibly loud, difficult to communicate, but this will help us a lot for the future,” Voss-Tecklenburg added.
“On the one hand, I’m super proud because we gave out all on the pitch, the sweat, the fight, the energy, everything we gave on the pitch so that’s very sad, you can’t really find the right words to say to the team.
“We came here to win the game, we didn’t manage to do so but it was a game on the same level and I think tomorrow or the day after I’ll have a different feeling about it.”
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