Lightning bolts and claps of thunder erupted over Borussia Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion on Saturday evening. The weather conditions during Denmark’s Euro 2024 clash with Germany saw referee Michael Oliver lead players from both sides off the field.
The decision left some viewers baffled but, given their history, it was no surprise to see Danish manager Kasper Hjulmand and his players so eager to come off. It all stems from a heartbreaking story involving midfielder Jonathan Richter.
Back in 2009, at only 24 years old, Richter was struck by lightning during a training game for Nordsjaelland – the Danish club which employed Hjulmand as their head coach at the time.
Richter spent 10 days in an induced coma, even longer in an intensive care unit in Copenhagen, and ultimately had to have the bottom part of his left leg amputated which brought an abrupt end to his football career.
On asking for the players to be taken off on Saturday night, Hjulmand said: “I was looking out for the security of the players. I was involved in a match where the lightning hit one of our players. [This time] the lightning was straight over us. It was the right thing [to take the players off].”
Play was halted for 25 minutes, and after it resumed, things didn’t go Denmark’s way. The underdogs looked to have taken the lead against the tournament hosts when Joachim Andersen found the bottom corner in the second half, but the goal was disallowed for a marginal offside.
Two minutes later, things went from bad to worse for Andersen as his dubious handball gave Germany a penalty. Kai Havertz scored it, and Jamal Musiala added a second to seal a 2-0 win, advance to the quarter-finals and send Denmark home.
“I’m so tired of the ridiculous handball rules,” vented Hjulmand after the game. “We cannot require our defenders to run with arms like this [flat to their side], it’s not natural.
“Joachim is running normally, it’s a normal situation. He jumped up and was hit by one metre. I rarely talk about decisions but it was very decisive in our game. It’s frustrating for our team. Being 1-0 in front would have changed everything. In my opinion this is not how football is meant to be.”
