Germany should have been awarded penalty, says German chancellor

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, disregarding Niklas Fullkrug's handball and even an earlier offside, would have called for a Cucurella penalty in Spain's match against Germany. "Yes, I would have," he replied, according to NTV television, when asked at a public event how he viewed the controversial play in the match in which 'La Roja' booked their place in the semi-finals of the European Championship.

Cucurella inadvertently handled the ball in the box in the 106th minute in an action that was not sanctioned by referee Anthony Taylor, who Scholz seemed to agree with in his speech on Monday.

"That's what referees are there for and they are required to be impartial. And I would not have been," said the chancellor, who was present at the match in which Spain won 2-1 in Stuttgart with a 119th minute goal from Mikel Merino, who headed home Dani Olmo's cross in spectacular fashion.

Scholz made the remarks at a public event during a visit to a production plant of German technology conglomerate Siemens, which develops medical technologies in Erlangen.