Former Midfielder Toni Kroos Frustrated Over Germany’s Denied Penalty in EURO 2024 Quarterfinals Against Spain.

Toni Kroos, who recently retired, expressed his frustration during a podcast conversation with his brother on Einfach mal Luppen about the controversial handball incident involving Marc Cucurella in the closing moments of the EURO 2024 quarterfinal match between Spain and Germany.

The former Real Madrid player admitted that he had “held back until today” when discussing the topic, and he felt “bitter” looking back at the incident.

“It’s difficult to accept when you see a clear situation or understand the importance of a goal at that moment; although ultimately, the only thing you can do is accept it,” Kroos explained.

Kroos continued: “It means you’re not angry with the referee at that moment because you can’t evaluate the referee in that way. Of course, I noticed it afterward. The referee decided without even needing to check the situation again, or the VAR team told him: there’s no need to review, it’s not a handball.”

The former Real Madrid midfielder acknowledged not seeing Cucurella’s action during the match but believed that referee Anthony Taylor (England) “should have at least looked at the VAR screen.”

“I can’t evaluate the situation,” Kroos admitted, explaining why he did not react to the referee at that moment. “I have to say I didn’t see it clearly during the game. I wasn’t in a good position to recognize that it was a handball.”

Kroos emphasized: “I think the issue is: the referee knew that if he reviewed the footage, he would have to award a penalty. I have the feeling that he didn’t necessarily want to do that in a match like this.”