Why Marc Cucurella was booed during Bayern Munich vs Chelsea Champions League tie

Chelsea left-back Marc Cucurella was booed during Wednesday's Champions League tie against Bayern Munich.

After dropping down to the bench for the draw at Brentford on Saturday, Cucurella returned to the XI to face Bayern, alongside Cole Palmer, Malo Gusto and Reece James.

As the game began, it became clear that Cucurella was being jeered from the fans inside the Allianz Arena. Every time the ex-Brighton defender got the ball, loud boos were audible.

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And the reason behind Cucurella's negative reception is well known. The 26-year-old faced boos from local fans because of the handball incident during Spain's quarter-final win against Germany at Euro 2024.

Jamal Musiala's strike appeared to hit Cucurella's arm inside the box in extra-time, but referee Antony Taylor waved away appeals from the Germany players. VAR, meanwhile, didn't intervene and Spain went on to progress.

A matter of months after the game, UEFA admitted the decision not to award a handball against Cucurella was an error and Germany should have been given a penalty.

UEFA's Referee Committee told international referees that it was a mistake.

"Following the latest UEFA guidelines, hand-to-ball contact that stops a shot on goal should be punished more strictly, and in most cases, a penalty kick should be awarded, unless the defender's arm is very close to the body or on the body," the Referees Committee said on the incident in a report, per Relevo.

"In this case, the defender [Cucurella] stops the shot on goal with his arm, which is not very close to the body, making itself bigger, so a penalty kick should have been awarded."

German fans have not forgotten about the controversial incident and are still giving Cucurella some stick, as they did after he handled the ball in the quarter-final.

Loud booing was present throughout the first half and on every touch.

As for the game itself, Bayern took the lead in the 20th minute as Trevoh Chalobah put through his own net after coming under pressure from Serge Gnabry. The Bundesliga side then went 2-0 up through a Harry Kane penalty, before Cole Palmer pulled one back for Chelsea a couple of minutes later.