One Chelsea player proved to be an unpopular figure in the host country of Euro 2024 towards the end of the tournament.
Marc Cucurella was the only Blue to return home a champion of the competition, getting the better of Cole Palmer and Conor Gallagher as part of the Spain team.
Cucurella was booed every time he touched the ball in the final two games by the German fans who remained at the tournament after their elimination.
In their defeat to Spain, a shot hit the hand of the Chelsea defender which was not given as a penalty to Germany.
Toni Kroos has stated on his podcast, Einfach mal Luppen, that he has changed his mind on the incident in recent days.
Kroos not happy with Cucurella handball
With quotes relayed by TuttoMercatoWeb, he said: “Until today I was happy…. I didn’t see it at all, I wasn’t able to see that it was a relatively clear handball, so I wasn’t angry with the referee at the time. Of course, I paid attention to the referee afterwards. He was of the opinion that he shouldn’t even look.
“I only got angry when I saw him afterwards let’s leave things as they are. On the pitch I was wrong to trust him (referee Taylor, ed.). I think I should have at least looked at him. But I think the problem was that I knew that if I had looked at him, he would have had to give it.
“The referees themselves don’t know 100% what the interpretation is. In the end we had no choice but to accept it.”
The left-back was certainly right to make the most of his celebrations after winning the competition.
Cucurella surprised a number of pundits with his performances during the competition, however Chelsea supporters will have been well aware of the potential to play well he had.
Cucurella set to feature heavily for Chelsea
He had upped his game massively in the final few weeks of the season under Mauricio Pochettino, with his position being altered to invert into midfield.
This is something that is key to the football Enzo Maresca plays, and opens up a great opportunity for him to continue his regular playing at Stamford Bridge.
Ben Chilwell will likely be worrying for his place as a result of his turnaround of form, with the vice-captain desperate for a return to regular minutes following a nightmare run of injuries.
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