After “a careful assessment” of the situation, the disciplinary committee came to the conclusion that it was at the discretion of the referees and was “not mandatory” to use VR technology.
Elohim Prandi’s goal, with which the French had saved themselves into extra time when the game had already expired, caused discussion shortly after the game. When looking at the slow motion, you could see that Prandi’s foot came off the ground too early during the direct free throw and the hit was therefore irregular. The referees Gjorgji Nachevski and Slave Nikolov from North Macedonia, who officiated the World Cup final last year, decided not to use the video evidence.
EHF President Michael Wiederer described the referees’ decision not to use the video evidence as a “clear mistake” on Saturday. “The referees should have watched the video,” said Wiederer, but at the same time asked for understanding. The game is becoming “faster and faster” and has developed “enormously technically and in terms of speed”: “It is a big challenge for the referees.”
Nevertheless, he did not want to downplay this mistake or two other bad decisions during the tournament in which video evidence was incorrectly not used. It is “not possible to avoid errors in the future, but we are doing everything we can to minimize them.”
France will play the final against world champions Denmark on Sunday. Sweden and Germany will play beforehand (3 p.m./ARD and Dyn) for bronze and the direct ticket to the Olympic Games in Paris.