Coach Ronald Koeman and many experts were upset when VAR denied Xavi Simons’ goal in the Netherlands’ 0-0 draw with France in the second round of Group D of Euro 2024.

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In the 69th minute of the match at Red Bull Arena, Leipzig, Memphis Depay received the ball in the penalty area, pressed French defender Dayot Upamecano, then turned and shot with his left foot, forcing goalkeeper Mike Maignan to use his foot to block. The ball bounced to the edge of the penalty area, right at the reach of Xavi Simons, who volleyed into the bottom right corner of the French net.

After seemingly scoring his first goal in a major tournament and opening the scoring for the Netherlands, Xavi Simons ran to the corner of the pitch to celebrate with the home fans.

Dutch players on the field and substitutes like Wout Weghorst (number 9) also ran towards Xavi Simons to share the joy with his young teammate.

But after consulting with one of his fellow countrymen, English referee Anthony Taylor disallowed Simons’ goal for offside.

VAR then stepped in and spent more than three minutes checking the situation, but did not change the decision on the pitch. In the photo is the moment Xavi Simons (number 7) and the players talked to referee Taylor while VAR was working.

In this situation, Denzel Dumfries (number 22) was considered to be in an offside position and obstructed Maignan’s movement.

According to the law, a player is considered to be “obstructing the play” in four ways: preventing an opponent from playing the ball by clearly obstructing their view; challenging for the ball; attempting to run towards the ball and impacting an opponent; or taking action that clearly affects an opponent’s ability to play the ball.

Slow motion shows Dumfries standing below France’s deepest defender as Simons finishes.

Dutch coach Ronald Koeman reacted angrily on the sidelines when referee Taylor canceled the goal.

At the post-match press conference, the coach admitted that Dumfries was offside, but insisted that his player did not affect the French goalkeeper, so he considered Xavi Simons’ goal to be completely valid.

“VAR needs five minutes to check because the situation is too difficult? I don’t understand,” Koeman added.

On BBC Sport , England legends Wayne Rooney and Gary Lineker both said the Netherlands had scored a legitimate goal, while Alan Shearer was unhappy that VAR took too long to check the situation before making the final decision. Former midfielder Cesc Fabregas said referee Taylor should have gone to the touchline to review the footage, instead of relying on the VAR team.

Lineker added that Koeman had reason to be angry and that it was strange that Taylor did not review the footage himself. Rooney concluded: “If you review the situation, the final decision belongs to Taylor. But in my opinion, the goal is valid.”

France coach Didier Deschamps (left) talks to Koeman while waiting for VAR to review the situation. At the press conference, he supported referee Taylor’s decision.

“The referees spoke. There was a Dutch player obstructing the French goalkeeper so I was just surprised that the situation was checked for so long. When I saw it on the screen it was clearly offside,” Deschamps said.

Xavi Simons was born in 2003, grew up in the training centers of Barca and PSG, and is currently playing for RB Leipzig in the German Bundesliga on loan from PSG.

The 21-year-old attacking midfielder joined the Dutch national team in October 2022 and participated in the 2022 World Cup. Before yesterday’s match against France, Xavi Simon had only played 15 matches for the Dutch national team and scored one goal, in a 4-0 friendly win over Iceland on June 10, warming up for Euro 2024.

With referee Taylor’s decision yesterday, Xavi Simons has yet to score in an official match for the Netherlands. The player wearing the number 7 shirt was regretful and a bit indignant when he learned that his goal against France was not recognized.

The 0-0 result left France and the Netherlands with four points and a goal difference of +1, but Koeman’s side topped Group D due to a superior goal difference (two to one).

In this group, Poland became the first team to be eliminated from Euro 2024, after losing 1-3 to Austria. In the final match at 11pm on June 25, Hanoi time, France will play Poland, while the Netherlands will meet Austria.

Main events of the match Netherlands 0-0 France.