Euro 2024: Wayne Rooney bemused at Netherlands goal ruled out v France - ‘There’s no way that should be disallowed'
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ByOli Gent
Updated 22/06/2024 at 09:06 GMT
Netherlands were denied what would have been a winning goal in their Euro 2024 Group D encounter with France when Xavi Simons saw his 69th-minute strike chalked off for an infringement. Denzel Dumfries, the right wing-back, was adjudged by the video assistant referee Stuart Atwell to have hindered Mike Maignan, the France goalkeeper, from reaching Simons' shot. The game finished 0-0.
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Wayne Rooney has said “there’s no way” that Xavi Simons’ 69th-minute goal should have been disallowed during Netherlands’ clash against France.
Simons, the Dutch right-winger, slammed home as the ball rebounded to him just inside the penalty area, but the strike was chalked off by the VAR Stuart Attwell, who adjudged Denzel Dumfries, standing in an offside position, to be interfering with play.
Dumfries was stood adjacent to Mike Maignan, and was ruled to have hindered the France goalkeeper's ability to dive to reach the shot, which arrowed into the bottom corner.
The goal would have proved to be the match-winner in an even game in Leipzig.
Netherlands and France are joint-top of Group D after two games, tied on four points each, but Ronald Koeman’s Oranje are ahead of Didier Deschamps’ side on goals scored.
The incident sparked contention in the BBC studio, with pundits Rooney, Alan Shearer and Cesc Fabregas all in agreement that the goal should have stood.
“I think it’s a goal,” Rooney said.
“The French defenders are blocking his [Maignan] view. He does make a small attempt to get the ball, but that’s the best he can do. There’s no way that should be disallowed. It’s frustrating the amount of time that it took.
“If you go to the monitor, the referee can see and he has to make a decision. It’s his opinion on it, but whatever opinion was given, [was wrong]. It’s a goal.”
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“France have been very fortunate,” Shearer added.
“When you see the angle from behind the goal, clearly the goalkeeper, because of his body position, because of where his legs are and how wide they are, you can see how far Dumfries is [from him].
“The goalkeeper cannot dive for that. With that body position, he cannot dive and he’s not getting to that ball. Dumfries is not affecting him at all.
“[The decision] took far too long. The defender in front of him was blocking him more than Dumfries is affecting him. I just don’t think he’s getting there at all.”
Fabregas, the former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder, said: “We need to question the referee and VAR. You can maybe have seen it in a different way because everything happens very, very fast, but the VAR should have called him out to see the screen at least.
“If you really think you can get that ball, you still dive and try to make it happen.”
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Netherlands' boss Ronald Koeman was just as bewildered by the eventual decision as much as the time taken to reach it.
The former Barcelona head coach insisted that the advantage should be given to the attacking team if there was any doubt over the validity of the would-be opener.
Koeman said: “If it’s offside, then you don’t need to spend five minutes touching your ear. I don’t understand this. If you have this much doubt, you give a goal!
"Dumfries did not hinder the goalkeeper. It wasn’t because of Dumfries that Maignan didn’t go for the ball, Maignan did not react because he simply couldn’t get to the ball anyway.
"He would have never reached that ball. It’s a legal goal. Once again, he’s not disturbing the goalkeeper.”
Dutch skipper Virgil van Dijk agreed, saying: "Our goal was valid from what I could see from behind."
‘Perfect all-rounder’ Kante earns lavish praise
N’Golo Kante was named player of the match for a second successive game at the tournament after another spectacular showing in the French engine room.
The former Leicester City and Chelsea man earned huge plaudits from the BBC pundits after the game, with Rooney labelling him “the perfect example of an all-round midfielder”.
“We were saying watching the game that he was literally everywhere,” Fabregas, an ex-team-mate of Kante’s at Chelsea, said.
“You see him on the right wing, you see him recovering balls as the last man. What I like about him is that he plays forward and keeps moving. He’s pass-and-go. A lot of movement; good mobility, and a lot of quality.
“The way that he has improved [technically], always playing forward, he was superb and man of the match without a doubt."
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“He was just everywhere; he’s incredible,” Shearer said.
“His ability to get around the pitch hasn’t changed. He was absolutely everywhere. The give-and-go, the energy and quality that he’s got on the ball, it’s incredible.”
Rooney said: “That [completeness] has gone out of the game when you look at midfield players.
“Are you a No. 6 or a No. 8? He’s the perfect example of an all-round midfielder.”
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