"Blimey, that whistle came 633 days too late!" ARD pundit takes a dig at the referee during the Germany match

Angelo Stiller had shot from close range and a tight angle, but the ball had struck Jonas Adjetey’s arm. The ball would have gone towards the goal, perhaps even into it. A penalty was therefore quite rightly awarded to the German national team, and ARD commentator Phillip Sohmer couldn’t resist taking a dig at the English referee given the timing of events.

“Blimey, that whistle’s 633 days too late!” Sohmer blurted out. Background: Attwell was the video assistant referee during the DFB team’s dramatic exit in the quarter-finals of the home European Championship against Spain. The team led by Anthony Taylor and Attwell made a fatal error at the time when a clear handball by Marc Cucurella following a shot by Jamal Musiala in the 106th minute of extra time was not penalised with a penalty.

Taylor immediately ruled “no handball” at the time; Attwell made no mention of this clear misjudgement, which even UEFA admitted to in a report at the time. A penalty should have been awarded, as Cucurella’s arm was not close to his body and his body surface area was unnaturally enlarged. The Spaniard was subjected to massive booing during his subsequent appearances on German soil.

Fate has now caught up with Attwell too. As ntv reports, the referee was also booed when he was welcomed on Monday evening at the Stuttgart stadium – incidentally, the very stadium where the German “Drama dahoam” had unfolded 633 days earlier. “A warm welcome, Stuart Attwell,” the stadium announcer is said to have called out before the friendly against Ghana, after which a number of boos were clearly audible around the ground.

Still, thanks to his correct decision this time, the DFB side did manage to take a 1-0 lead against Ghana shortly before half-time. Kai Havertz gave Benjamin Asare no chance whatsoever and slotted the ball home confidently. 

Attwell became the Premier League’s youngest referee in 2008 and has been officiating at FIFA level since 2009. He has now officiated 238 matches in England’s top flight. In the Champions League, however, he has only been allowed to referee three qualifying matches to date.