Austria coach Ralf Rangnick couldn't hide his disappointment at a "blatant mistake by the referee" shortly before France scored the winner in the teams' Euro 2024 opener on Monday evening.
"That was a blatant mistake by the referee and it happened 90 seconds before the French scored," Rangnick said.
Christoph Baumgartner had the opening goal on his feet in the 36th minute, but struck the ball on France goalkeeper Mike Maignan before it went out.
However, referee Jesús Gil Manzano denied Austria corner kick and France broke the deadlock moments later thanks to an own goal from Maximilian Wöber.
"I don't understand why nobody from the outside, the linesman or the fourth official, intervened. Everyone in the stadium saw it, only the referee gave the goal kick," Rangnick said. He added that the referee later admitted the mistake.
In the second group stage game, Austria face Poland on Friday, while France play against the Netherlands on the same day.