UEFA send two referees home from Germany after complaints from teams

Two Spanish referee have been sent home early from Euro 2024 in Germany due to complaints over their decisions. The Euros restart on Saturday, with the more meaningful knockout stage games getting underway after a two day break on the back of the group stage.

Ahead of the knockout stages, UEFA have whittled down the refereeing pool by sending home some officials, and four of the five Spanish officials involved in the competition were sent home. That included Jesus Gil Manzano, who has been a controversial figure at times in La Liga. He has been sent home due to an error in France’s 1-0 win over Austria.

His assistants Diego Barbero and Angel Nevado were also told to pack their bags. Meanwhile, Alejandro Hernandez was also sent home after he failed to pick up on a Scotland penalty claim against Hungary. The decisions leave only VAR referee Martinez Munuera as the sole Spanish representation at the Euros.

As a result of the decisions, former La Liga referee Iturralde Gonzalez has called upon the RFEF - Spanish football association - to ensure there is Spanish representation on the UEFA committee. He said: on Cadena Ser: “There is an urgent need for a Spanish representative on the refereeing committee.” There were also reports that Argentine referee Facundo Tello, who was in charge of the Scotland vs Hungary game, would also be sent home, but he will be the fourth official for Italy’s clash with Switzerland on Saturday. Scotland boss Steve Clarke said after his side’s defeat to Hungary: “In a European competition it might have been better to have a European referee,’ Clarke said after his side’s Euro 2024 exit.

“But we had European VAR. Maybe the referee didn’t see the challenge clearly on the pitch but what’s the purpose of VAR if they’re not going to come in on something like that. It’s a penalty. It’s 100 per cent a penalty. Somebody somewhere has to explain to me why that’s not a penalty. It’s 100 per cent and in a one-goal gave, had we got that penalty, it could have been a different night. I’ve got other words but I’m not going to use them.”