Belgium's Euro 2024 opener versus Slovakia will likely go down as one of the most controversial games of the tournament after Romelu Lukaku was denied two goals by VAR.
The Red Devils were the heavy favorites to win this match but found themselves 1-0 down after only seven minutes following a poor giveaway from Jeremy Doku on the edge of their own box.
Domenico Tedesco's men — and Lukaku, in particular — were profligate in front of goal in the first half but hit the back of the net twice in the second half. Unfortunately, both attempts were ruled out by VAR, with the latter sparking tremendous controversy.
Both overruled goals were from Lukaku, with the first being a straightforward offside call. However, the Roma striker thought he had equalized again in the final five minutes of regular time following tremendous work by substitute Luis Openda on the left wing. Unfortunately, VAR intervened due to a "handball" incident involving Openda in the build-up.
The RB Leipzig attacker brushed the ball with his hand during a battle with his marker. VAR deemed the contact worthy of an intervention and called the referee over to the screen to review this incident. The match official canceled the equalizer after watching the replay but this decision did not go down well with fans.
Was the referee wrong to rule out the goal for handball? Was the contact sufficient enough to even merit an intervention from VAR? The consensus on social media is that the goal should have stood but you be the judge after watching this incident in the clips below (videos are geo-restricted).
After a review, Romelu Lukaku has a second goal of the day disallowed, this time due to a hand ball pic.twitter.com/g7xzxIyfGR
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 17, 2024
Another Lukaku equaliser is disallowed by VAR
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 17, 2024
Slovakia so close to an upset here #Euro2024 | #BELSVK pic.twitter.com/CIe2KO6EoL
No Goal!
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) June 17, 2024
Romelu Lukaku thought he found the back of the net, but the goal is denied by handball. VAR celebration time for Slovakia! #Euro2024 | #beINEURO | #HomeofEuro pic.twitter.com/3Fg7yI34m1
No way that Belgium goal should have been disallowed. UEFA has been v good on VAR so far but that was the type of decision which has given VAR a bad name in the PL.
— Martyn Ziegler (@martynziegler) June 17, 2024
Terrible decision, the type of forensic-examining, goal-hating, joy-shredding decision that has scarred the Premier League. It's re-refereeing games. Openda was being pushed, he was sprinting, his hand was in a natural position & does well to keep his balance. Belgium robbed.
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) June 17, 2024
With that result, Belgium find themselves second from bottom in Group E. The Red Devils sit ahead of Ukraine, who also lost earlier today but by a 3-0 score line, and will need to turn things around rapidly in their upcoming showdown with current leaders Romania.