The appointment of English referee Stuart Attwell for Germany’s upcoming friendly match against Ghana is stirring up unpleasant memories among German football fans.
Attwell is set to officiate the friendly on Monday in Stuttgart (kick-off 8:45 PM CET). His presence recalls Germany’s painful Euro 2024 quarter-final exit against Spain (1:2 after extra time) at the same stadium, where he served as a Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
During that contentious match, a handball by Spain’s Marc Cucurella in his own penalty area, following a shot from Jamal Musiala in the 106th minute, caused significant uproar. VAR Attwell’s failure to intervene in the situation provoked strong reactions. National coach Julian Nagelsmann labeled it ‘insanity,’ exclaiming, ‘The fact that there was no penalty – I cannot accept that.’ Former DFB captain Michael Ballack also fumed, ‘You won’t find a clearer handball in football.’
However, refereeing experts at the time deemed head referee Anthony Taylor’s decision to play on as technically justifiable. They argued there was no clear intent, the distance to the shooter was short, and the shot was very powerful.
Attwell Officiates Germany’s Senior Team for the First Time
Referee Patrick Ittrich commented on the dilemma: ‘This scene shows the whole dilemma of the rule. I’m actually more inclined to call it a handball, but it’s not the kind of handball where you send him out because you don’t have any other images.’
Notably, during the Euro round of 16 match against Denmark (2:0), Attwell assisted his compatriot Michael Oliver as VAR. In a similar situation in that game, Oliver had awarded a penalty for handball in favor of Germany.
Attwell, 43, has been a FIFA referee since 2009 and was also a VAR at Euro 2021. While he has not yet officiated a senior DFB national team match, both Germany’s U21 and U19 teams have suffered a defeat in their single game under his guidance.