Denmark finds loophole in UEFA rule during Euro 2024 draw against England

During its 1-1 draw with England at Euro 2024 , Denmark managed to navigate a new UEFA rule.

UEFA introduced several rule changes before the tournament, one of which is designed to curb dissent. In this tournament, only the team captain is permitted to discuss decisions with the referee.

However, as Kasper Schmeichel, Denmark's goalkeeper, is the captain, Tottenham midfielder Pierre Emile Hojbjerg was chosen to converse with the referee instead. Roberto Rosetti, UEFA's chief refereeing officer, explained ahead of the tournament: "We shared the idea with the EURO 2024 coaches and spoke about this topic inside our UEFA Football Board, with top players, former players, and coaches."

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"And, all together, we agreed about this situation and then went to the teams. They are happy about this. We are doing this not for the referees or the UEFA Referees Committee, but for football, the image of the game and the next generation.

"These sessions [with the teams] were very productive. All the players interacted in a very good way – they wanted to know how we wanted to apply this open dialogue with the captains and they were absolutely satisfied about this. I am sure it will be a fantastic example for the next era of football."

Italy finds itself in a similar position to Denmark, with their captain Gianluigi Donnarumma stating:"We spoke to Roberto Rossetti and it was very clear.

"When there are situations near the penalty area then I will go across and speak to the match officials, but before games we will decide as to who is going to speak to the referees for situations far from the penalty area."

Despite a stunning strike from Morten Hjulmand that equalized Harry Kane's initial goal, Denmark couldn't surpass England, ending the game in a draw. However, Kyle Walker defended England's performance in an interview with BBC, stating: "It's tournament football. This is a good Denmark team. We're top of the group.

"We've not lost. We've conceded one goal from outside the box. Let's try to take the positives. [The manager] wants us to play attacking football. Sometimes in tournament football, you have to manage the game. It's like the Champions League: you don't just turn up and take three points.

"We know we can do better, but we're top of the group. The players will know as individuals that we have another gear but we haven't lost a game. People want us to come and steamroll teams by three or four goals but that's not the game anymore."