Jan 27, 2024 at 2:38 PM Update: 2 days ago
The European Handball Federation has rejected Sweden’s complaint about a goal by France in the semi-finals of the European Championship on Saturday. The beautiful goal forced France to go into extra time on Friday against the defending champions, who ultimately lost 34-30.
Sweden seemed to be on its way to a close 27-26 victory. After playing time had already expired, Elohim Prandi was allowed to take one more free throw. He surprised goalkeeper Andreas Palicka with a dive and a hard throw. France won in extra time.
Sweden was furious afterwards, because Prandi’s unprecedented goal would not have been legal. During a free throw or penalty throw, at least one foot must always be on the ground. According to Sweden, this was not the case with Prandi’s goal.
The Swedes filed a complaint with the European Handball Association on Friday evening, partly because the referees had not called in the help of the video referee. According to the association, the referee is not obliged to do this and the protest has therefore been rejected.
“The video replay is only used when the referees have serious doubts about a decision or if they have not been able to see the situation properly,” the association writes. “The protest is therefore declared inadmissible.”
Sweden has until 8 p.m. Saturday to appeal the decision. The Scandinavian team will play the consolation final against host country Germany on Sunday. The final is between France and world champion Denmark.
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Elohim Prandi’s deliberate throw. Photo: Getty Images 2:54 Play button
European Handball Championship: France to final after exciting match with Sweden
Image: Getty Images/NU.nl
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