21 June 2024 , 22:13
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Ronald Koeman was upset that VAR ruled out a Holland winner against France - insisting if video assistant referee Stuart Attwell needed so long to make a decision, he should have let the goal stand.
Xavi Simons sent the Dutch support in Leipzig into raptures when his low strike found the bottom corner. But Denzel Dumfries was standing in an offside position, close to French goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
It took over two and a half minutes for Attwell to declare that Dumfries had been interfering and would have blocked any attempt of Maignan to make a save.
"If it's offside, then you don't need to spend five minutes touching your ear," slammed Koeman. "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.
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"He would have never reached that ball. It's a legal goal. Once again, he's not disturbing the goalkeeper."
Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk similarly declared: "From what I have seen, the goal should have been allowed."
Anthony Taylor and Virgil van Dijk of the Netherlands look on as VAR review the goal scored by Xavi Simons (UEFA via Getty Images)Koeman was pleased with how his side had competed against the tournament favourites - shorn of Kylian Mbappe - but felt they could have done more with possession.
“I think that it was a draw but if we think about the whole game there were times when we weren’t up to scratch, where we lost possession when we shouldn’t have, it wasn’t great,” said the Dutch boss. “I think our pressing wasn’t great either. There was too much space between our lines. France had better chances than we did. Not that many more.
“I personally think that the goal should have stood. Therefore I think it’s a fair result. I can accept this.
"It's always complicated to come up against a team like France. We want to play our style of football and be audacious, but we can't lose the ball like we did this evening. We need to be quicker in how we react and create more chances up front.
“We're a team that still needs to grow."