UEFA makes Anthony Taylor decision at Euro 2024 after Virgil van Dijk complaint

Referees Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor have been assigned to the quarter-finals of Euro 2024, despite facing criticism for previous decisions.

The English duo have been actively involved in the tournament so far, with UEFA confirming that they will continue their participation into the quarter-final stage.

Taylor has been given the responsibility of overseeing Spain's match against the hosting nation, Germany, taking place this Friday in Stuttgart. Joining him on the field will be assistants Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn, with Stuart Attwell serving as the VAR.

On the other hand, Michael Oliver has been chosen to officiate France's quarter-final clash with Portugal later that evening. His team will include Stuart Burt and Dan Cook, while David Coote has been appointed the VAR.

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Both referees have faced critique throughout their time at the tournament in Germany. In particular, Taylor was subject to scrutiny following a protracted VAR review, culminating in Xavi Simons' goal being disallowed. After that incident, Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk publicly criticized the officials.

"We scored a goal that is a fair goal," Van Dijk insisted after the match. "He had no chance to get into that corner. But yeah, the English referee decided to disallow it."

Denzel Dumfries was accused of interfering with play as his teammate scored. Although UEFAs managing director of referees, Roberto Rosetti, commended Taylor for his judgement, he also noted that the review process took longer than necessary.

He said: "We can improve because we have also to find elements of improvement - and there are always elements for improvement. I guess I think in this situation the element of improvement is the duration of this review. For sure the duration can be less. We can decrease the duration of the review.

"In this situation, the VAR checked two possible offsides, then he had to check also the possible impact of the attacker on the goalkeeper, and then he checked also possible previous contact between the players.

"Then we can add that we are at the Euros, the pressure is the pressure, and of course we always accuracy, of course working on the speed of the duration of reviews. But, at the end, the decision is totally correct."

Not everyone was holding back their feelings though. One such person was Crystal Palace's Joachim Andersen who wasn't shy in blasting Oliver after Denmark lost to Germany due to a penalty for handball.

"There was no shadow of a penalty kick. It is one of the worst refereeing performances I have seen in my career. Offside is offside, but that he can rule on the ball in such a situation, it's absolutely crazy."

When asked if he approached Oliver to talk about the decision, Andersen said: "I'm not allowed to. Then you get fines and a yellow card. It's a ridiculous rule. He can make all the mistakes he wants, and you can't say anything. ".