Nagelsmann slams referee after Germany’s Nations League loss to France

Julian Nagelsmann was left frustrated with the use of VAR during Germany’s 0-2 defeat to France in the UEFA Nations League third-place match.

Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann criticised Slovak referee Ivan Kruzliak following his side’s 0-2 defeat to France in Sunday’s UEFA Nations League third-place match in Stuttgart.

The controversy began around the half-hour mark when Karim Adeyemi went down under pressure from French goalkeeper Mike Maignan, prompting Kruzliak to award a penalty. 

However, after a lengthy VAR review, the decision was overturned – and Adeyemi was shown a yellow card for simulation.

While he accepted that it wasn’t a penalty, Nagelsmann was frustrated by the yellow card and how the situation was handled.

“It’s not a penalty, but it’s also not a dive,” he told DAZN. 

“As a referee, after eight minutes of video review, you could show a bit more sensitivity.”

Later in the match, Deniz Undav appeared to have scored an equaliser for Germany, only for VAR to intervene again. The goal was disallowed for a foul by Niclas Füllkrug on Adrien Rabiot in the build-up after the referee initially allowed play to continue.

While Nagelsmann admitted the call could go either way, he strongly criticised how the VAR protocol was applied.

“I can understand him giving a free-kick, but that’s still a rule violation by the referee,” he said. 

“He’s standing two metres away, evaluates the scene, and says it’s not a foul. Then he goes out and watches it for six minutes. That completely misses the point. That’s not what VAR is for. If he judged it wasn’t a foul, then it’s not a clear and obvious error.”

Nagelsmann went on to express sympathy for the referee while questioning the control he had over the decisions on the pitch.

“The sad thing is, I feel bad for the referee,” he added. 

“Everyone notices he doesn’t really make decisions anymore – he just watches videos. That’s not how it should work.”