Bernardo Silva claimed referee Slavko Vincic “doesn’t know” football’s rules following Portugal’s narrow 2-1 victory over Germany in the UEFA Nations League semi-finals. Portugal secured their place in Sunday’s final thanks to second-half goals from Francisco Conceicao and Cristiano Ronaldo, but it was Germany who took the lead with a dubious 48th-minute goal from Florian Wirtz.
Wirtz, who is close to securing a big-money move to Liverpool and was also involved in a heated clash with Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes on Wednesday night, headed the ball past Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa after receiving a wonderful pass from Joshua Kimmich. But although it was a well-worked goal, Portugal were convinced it should not have stood.
Replays show Portugal defender Ruben Dias had been blocked off by Nick Woltemade, who appeared to be in an offside position when Kimmich played his pass. Slovenian ref Vincic glanced at the pitchside monitor before confirming the effort, much to Portugal’s disbelief. They felt the goal should have been disallowed as Woltemade was interfering with play. Watch the goal below:
Germany 1-2 Portugal - Key Stats
Expected Goals
Total Shots
On Target
Manchester City star Silva slammed the referee during his post-match interview with Optus Sport, berating the match official for not ‘knowing the rules’. The 30-year-old said: “A tough game, we expected that because [Portugal] have a lot of quality. Playing at home, we knew they were going to play with a lot of intensity, with a lot of energy like they always do.
“But today we played a good game. A lot of character, a lot of intensity as well from us. Going down 1-0 is not easy in the beginning of the [second] half even if the goal is offside, even if the referee doesn't know the rules but that's another question. We're happy we were able to come back.” Watch Bernardo Silva’s interview below:
florian wirtz-1 Related
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Why Referee Didn't Disallow Wirtz Goal
Two possibilities behind the questionable decision
Silva and his Portugal teammates understandably felt aggrieved as Woltemade was clearly interfering with play. Referee Vincic decided either the contact from Germany’s No. 11 towards Dias wasn’t enough to be deemed as interference, or perhaps he only focused on the position of Wirtz, who was onside during the passage of play, while reviewing the incident on the monitor. The man who took charge of the 2024 Champions League final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund is yet to clarify why the goal was allowed to stand.
Despite that setback, Portugal fought back from 1-0 down to secure a 2-1 victory, with the legendary Ronaldo netting the winner, and will now face either France or Spain in this weekend’s Nations League final. A European trophy awaits the eventual champions at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
Match stats via Soccerway and correct as of 05/06/25.