Toni Kroos Expects More From Referee’s Decision-Making, Highlights Recent Spain-Germany Euro 2024 Controversy
Former Real Madrid midfielder and Germany international, Toni Kroos, has voiced his concerns and criticism over a specific incident involving the referees during a recent Euro Cup match between Spain and Germany. Kroos expressed his reaction during an interview on his ‘Einfach mal Luppen’ podcast with his brother.
(source: UEFA)
Kroos Experiences
In the candid discussion, Kroos shared an emotionally charged recollection regarding his anger and disappointment with regards to the referee’s decision-making; this, following his initial denial that the referee even needed to involve himself in the handball saga:
“(Referee thought) he didn’t even have to look at it.”(Toni Kroos, Euro 2024)
In the audio excerpt, Kroos initially doubts whether the handball really counted, which led to ire being directed at the referee with increased scrutiny in hindsight (i.e., following the match itself):
“I simply lost my cool later on’. ‘Let the whole thing pass.’
About an hour ago, my colleagues and I were doing something, and this is to remember the time you were able to get a team to finish its first full season; Kroos emphasized that once his anger settled, he fully appreciated the complexity and uncertainty affecting these decisions:
The Criticism Aired
This concern for accuracy and consistency during this particular moment in-game exemplifies a bigger issue on multiple levels; Kroos spoke candidly about the apparent discrepancies in the rulebook understanding that the referees hold, thereby heightening uncertainty and concern, saying:
“Referee, they no 100% on what the perception (interpretation) is. In the end, we knew he had to go along in terms of these regulations.”
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