close
close

“Scandalous decision” and “lousy finish” – Belgium suffers huge Euro shock against Slovakia

Posted on by angelo
“Scandalous decision” and “lousy finish” – Belgium suffers huge Euro shock against Slovakia

Video caption, Romelu Lukaku has second goal ruled out for handball in preparation

  • Author, Emma Sanders
  • Role, BBC Sport journalist at the Frankfurt Arena

Slovakia pulled off one of the biggest upsets in European Championship history with victory over Belgium – but it could have been avoided.

Ranked third in the world, Belgium were favorites to top Group E before kick-off, but now find themselves playing catch-up after a wasteful performance in Frankfurt and a “scandalous” refereeing decision.

The chances kept coming and Romelu Lukaku wasted several before seeing two goals in the second half canceled out by the video assistant referee (VAR).

The first was clearly offside, but the second was a more controversial decision less than three minutes from regulation time.

Referee Halil Umut Meler was sent to the pitch monitor before disallowing the goal for handball in the build-up to Lois Openda.

The Belgian substitute was in mid-movement when he fell for the ball while battling with Slovak defender Denis Vavro, his arms seemingly in a natural position.

“It’s outrageous. It’s ridiculous, it really is,” former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton said on BBC Radio 5 Live as the Belgian celebrations were quickly crushed.

“Openda doesn’t intentionally push the ball his way. It’s tough. In the Premier League this goal would stand.”

Nonetheless, Belgium came away with nothing after Ivan Schranz capitalized on a loose pass from Manchester City’s Jeremy Doku in the first half to give Slovakia a hard-earned 1-0 victory.

“We had many opportunities, and great ones”

Video caption, Highlights: Belgium 0-1 Slovakia

Doku’s mistake and Lukaku’s waste proved costly as Belgium lost for the first time in 15 matches under Domenico Tedesco.

They have failed to score on any of their last 47 shots at major tournaments and missed four big chances in a Euro match for the first time since 1980.

“I don’t think anyone saw this result coming with the talent and quality of Belgium in their team,” Sutton added.

“They had chances. This will be one of Slovakia’s most famous victories.”

This is certainly the case as Slovakia, ranked 48th in the world, delighted in a first victory against one of the world’s top three.

When the whistle blew at the end of the match in Frankfurt, the Slovak substitutes and staff rushed onto the pitch to celebrate, standing arm in arm in front of their fans, bouncing and singing.

“We gave it our all. We didn’t win it by being better, but by being happier,” said Slovak defender David Hancko.

But for Belgium coach Tedesco, it was an unusual feeling of defeat as he faced questions about how his team failed to convert one of the 16 chances they had.

“We knew before that one day we would have to lose a match and unfortunately it is today. Of course we created many big chances,” he said.

“We knew they would come and put pressure. We handled the situation well, we recovered some good balls and the only thing that wasn’t perfect was the missed chances. We had many big ones. “

Video caption, Moyes perplexed by Belgian handball decision

“He could have won the Golden Shoe”

With 45 places separating Belgium and Slovakia in the Fifa rankings, it was statistically one of the biggest surprises in the history of the European Championship.

The late VAR decision to rule out Lukaku’s equalizer due to a handball from substitute Openda played a role.

Belgium boss Tedesco said he wanted to be a “just loser” and did not want to give his opinion further on the decision.

Christina Unkel, referee analyst at ITV Sport, said: “The interpretation of the deliberation has recently changed.

“However, this is considered a deliberate infraction because the arm is close to shoulder level because the arm is extended and touch helps control the ball.”

But even though Sutton believes the VAR decision was incorrect, he pointed out that Lukaku had enough chances earlier to score.

“In truth, Lukaku was rubbish in the first half. Those were three huge chances that he usually swallows up,” added Sutton.

“He could have already won the Golden Shoe (awarded to the tournament’s top scorer). Slovakia didn’t create many chances, but that’s because of Belgium’s wastefulness.”

Tedesco was not worried, although Belgium’s profligacy also played a role in their early exit from the 2022 World Cup group stage.

“Lukaku has been playing for Belgium for a long time and knows how to score goals very well. He has shown it many times. Tonight he scored, but it was not allowed,” he said.

Doku’s mistake also proved costly as Belgium proved to be their own worst enemy on an unforgettable evening in Frankfurt.

“Of course it hurts. It hurts for him, for me and for the team, but it’s part of the game. You won’t score a goal without making mistakes. It can happen,” Tedesco added.

“Slovakia made a lot of mistakes tonight and that’s why we have to score. We talk more about this mistake because it’s the decisive goal.”

They have work to do now as they travel to Cologne to face group leaders Romania on Saturday, hoping to avoid another early elimination from a major tournament.