Germany defender Kathrin Hendrich was sent off for pulling the hair of France captain Griedge Mbock in a bizarre moment in the Euro 2025 quarter-final.
The incident also resulted in a penalty as it took place in the box, and it left Germany a goal and a player down after just 15 minutes as Grace Geyoro successfully converted from the spot.
In what was a nightmare start for Germany, Swedish referee Tess Olofsson was sent to the pitchside monitor when the VAR spotted an incident in the penalty box as Germany defended a France free-kick.
Replays showed that Germany defender Hendrich yanked Mbock’s hair as she attempted to get onto the end of the cross. Hendrick was attempting to regain her position in the box, but Mbock was not actually the closest player to the ball.
Olofsson awarded a penalty and showed Hendrich a straight red card after the review. The referee then explained her decision to Hendrich by pulling her own ponytail.
Hendrich appealed the referee’s decision and had to be persuaded to leave the pitch by her team-mates. It also resulted in a further reshuffle in the Germany defence, with the eight-time champions already without captain Giulia Gwinn and back-up right back Carlotta Wamser.
“What are you doing!?” 😐
A moment of madness as Germany’s Kathrin Hendrich is sent off for a hair pull and gives away a penalty pic.twitter.com/peTwKnMdAy
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 19, 2025
The record eight-time European champions Germany have never lost to France at a major tournament, in five attempts, and defeated Les Bleues in the Euro 2022 semi-finals three years ago.
But France have won their last 11 games in a row and were impressive in the group stages with victories over England, the Netherlands and Wales. They also beat Germany in last year’s Nations League semi-finals.
France have a real opportunity to win a major tournament for the first time and defeating Germany, who looked shaky during the group stage and lost 4-1 to Sweden to finish runners-up, will be a major test of their credentials.