Nagelsmann wants AI to rule on handball after ref misses 'clear' penalty

Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann lamented the decision to deny his side a late penalty in Friday's 2-1 Euro 2024 loss to Spain, saying "the referee blew in favour of Spain a little."

With the hosts on the attack in extra time and the scores locked at 1-1, Jamal Musiala's shot at goal connected with the outstretched arm of Spain's Marc Cucurella, who was standing inside the box. 

The German players, along with the home fans, appeared to celebrate after the incident but referee Anthony Taylor waved it away and VAR did not overturn his decision. 

The decision came moments before Spain's Mikel Merino jumped high to head in a chip from Dani Olmo, which won the game and sent his country through to the semi-finals. 

Germany were the beneficiaries of a handball decision in their 2-0 last-16 win over Denmark, with the defender's hand much closer to his body and the ball not headed towards the goal.

"It wasn't deserved today and the referee blew in favour of Spain a little," said Nagelsmann.

"It was a clear penalty."

The coach demanded a change in the handball rules depending on where the shot was going, calling for the use of artificial intelligence to determine the flightpath of the ball.

Speaking with MagentaTV, Nagelsmann said: "If Jamal Musiala shoots the ball towards the city centre of Stuttgart and Cucurella touches it, I would never want a penalty.

"(But the ball) goes towards the goal and he stops it clearly with his hand.

"We have 50 robots that bring us coffee, so there must be an AI that calculates where the ball will go."

The 36-year-old coach added that Musiala's shot was "very good, it will probably even go in, and the hand is stretched out far away (from the body)."