'Obviously bitter': Toni Kroos breaks silence on heartbreaking moment at Euro 2024

Retired German football player Toni Kroos has broken his silence for the first time following his country’s loss in Euro 2024 to Spain following a controversial handball decision.

Kross told his podcast, Einfach mal Luppen, that he had previously kept quiet about the incident but now felt comfortable speaking about it.

The former Real Madrid man told his listeners that he was, “obviously bitter in hindsight when you see the full result or the importance of a goal at that moment,” per BeIN Sports.

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Kroos did continue, saying, “the only thing” he and his teammates can do is “accept it”.

Kroos’ anger seemed directed more at the decision-making process than towards any individual, saying, “That means you're not so angry with the referee at that moment because you can't judge it like that yourself.”

Kroos also mentioned his belief the referee was perhaps scared to make a decision of that magnitude at that moment, saying, “I think the problem was: he knew that if he looked at it [on VAR], he had to give it. And I had the feeling that he didn't necessarily want to give it in a game like that.”

The Cucurella handball incident proved to be tournament-defining for Spain, perhaps if it had been given and Germany went on to win, it could have them lifting the trophy against England.

Cucurella became the focal point of German anger at the decision, with the Spaniard receiving boos from German fans throughout the rest of the tournament, per The Sun.

The Chelsea full-back seemed to dislike the treatment he received from the local fans, telling The Athletic, “I didn't think much about it, but at the same time I was a bit sad that people came to the game just to boo a single player,” and that some fans had, “wasted their tickets”.

Is Toni Kroos’ assessment of the situation fair? Given how much rode on that one moment, making any decision would have caused controversy, but for Kroos, it became his final moments in professional football, so any anger he feels is probably justified.

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