Sweden’s appeal rejected after semi-final against France

A scene in the game between Sweden and France caused discussion. Now the European umbrella organization has made a decision.

The European Handball Federation (EHF) has rejected Sweden’s protest after its defeat in the European Championship semi-final against France. The EHF announced this on Saturday. The 2022 European champion objected to the scoring of the game after the game on Friday evening (30:34 nV).

According to the EHF, the protest “related to the non-use of the Video Review (VR) to review the last free throw for France in the 60th minute of the game.” 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.

France will play the final against world champions Denmark on Sunday (5.45 p.m./ARD and Dyn). Sweden and Germany will play beforehand (3 p.m./ARD and Dyn) for bronze and the direct ticket to the Olympic Games in Paris.