Coach Ronald Koeman of the Netherlands maintained that Xavi Simons’ disallowed goal ought to have stood as his team played out the first goalless draw in the Euro 2024 tournament in Leipzig against France.
When Simons, the goal scorer, reached the bottom corner in the second half of the match, he, along with his teammates from the Netherlands and the ecstatic Dutch fans behind the goal, all believed that the 21-year-old had handed Koeman’s team the lead.
However, the goal was disallowed by the on-field referees, overseen by Englishman Anthony Taylor, because Dutch full-back Denzel Dumfries was deemed to be offside and obstructing France goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
Without the option of watching the replay, spectators inside the stadium whistled in displeasure during a protracted check by video assistant referee Stuart Atwell until it was declared the on-field judgment would stand.
“I think the position of Dumfries is offside, that is true,” said Koeman. “But he is not disturbing the goalkeeper and when that is not happening, it is a legal goal, in my opinion.”
The offside law states: “The attacking player is penalised for preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the goalkeeper’s line of vision.”
The on-pitch call was upheld by Taylor and VAR Atwell despite the assistant referee’s offside signal.
Along with Belgium’s goal that was disallowed for a handball in their 1-0 loss to Slovakia, it was one of the first big talking points about the usage of VAR at the tournament, particularly with relation to the delay in reaching a decision.
