Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella humorously admitted to a nerve-wracking moment during Spain’s victorious Euro 2024 campaign, joking that he ‘wet his pants’ during a crucial incident.
The 26-year-old played a pivotal role in Luis de la Fuente’s side, who secured a thrilling 2-1 victory over England in the final, clinching Spain’s third European Championship title.
However, their journey to glory almost came to a premature end in the quarter-finals against hosts Germany in Stuttgart.
As the match went into extra time, with Germany pushing hard for a winner, Jamal Musiala unleashed a long-range shot that struck Cucurella’s left hand.
Premier League referee Anthony Taylor quickly waved off any penalty appeals, and VAR official Stuart Attwell chose not to intervene.
But despite the decision, Marc Cucurella admitted he was trembling during the moment of uncertainty.
“Mamma mia, what a shock,” the Chelsea star told Gazzetta dello Sport.
“I wet my pants. I looked at the referee and saw him say firmly: ‘No penalty!’
“I told myself, ‘Relax’, but I couldn’t do that until the game resumed.”
Not long after the game resumed, Mikel Merino scored a dramatic 119th-minute winner, sending Spain through to the semifinals.
Cucurella and his teammates then triumphed over tournament favorites France with a 2-1 victory in regulation time, securing a memorable night in Berlin at the expense of Gareth Southgate’s England.
However, in September, UEFA’s Referee Committee concluded that Germany should have been awarded a penalty.
“Now they come and say it was a penalty,” Cucurella added.
“Who benefits from that?”
The decision left Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann furious after the match, as he called for a review of the handball rule.
“I don’t understand why we don’t take into account what is happening with the ball,” Nagelsmann admitted.
“If Musiala kicks it towards Stuttgart centre and it hits the hand, I won’t say anything.
“But it was going towards goal. And for me, you should look at where it is going.
“Is it going into the clouds or is it going in the goal?
“In one case it is a penalty, in the other it is not. If it is going into the stands, then it is no penalty.
“The rule should be simpler.
“You can’t talk about intentions.
“You have to see where the ball is aimed.
“We have 50 robots that bring us our coffee so there should be an AI that calculates where the ball is going.”
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