Seemingly upset that their team wasn’t playing, German soccer fans booed Spain’s Marc Cucurella throughout Tuesday’s European Championship semifinal against France.
Whenever Cucurella had possession during Spain’s 2-1 victory over France, he faced loud whistles from many German supporters in the stadium.
“The jeers directed at Cucurella are disgraceful,” remarked Spain defender Dani Vivián. “I can’t comprehend those who come to a stadium to whistle and boo.”
Fans appeared to blame Cucurella for a penalty that wasn’t awarded to Germany during their quarterfinal loss to Spain on Friday. Spain advanced at the expense of the host nation with a dramatic 2-1 win in extra time in Stuttgart.
German fans were angered that referee Anthony Taylor didn’t award a penalty when Jamal Musiala’s shot hit Cucurella’s arm during the first period of extra time.
Taylor apparently judged that Cucurella was bringing his arms down to his sides and didn’t intend to block the shot, doing his best to avoid using his arm to block the ball. The video referee didn’t intervene as the call was not deemed incorrect. Play continued, and Mikel Merino later scored Spain’s winning goal in the 119th minute.
Frustrated German fans who had expected their team to be in Tuesday’s semifinal took out their disappointment on Cucurella.
Cucurella, who played well, stated that he didn’t pay any attention to the German fans.
