Spain are through to the semi-finals of Euro 2024 following a dramatic 120th-minute winning header by Mikel Merino to break tournament host Germany's hearts.

It was a great game between the two nations, but it wasn't without some needle. Referee Anthony Taylor brandished 16 yellow cards and one red card among both teams over the course of the 120 minutes.

Spain will be without Alvaro Morata, Robin Le Normand, and Dani Carvajal on Tuesday after the players picked up their second bookings of the tournament. Carvajal going so far as to pick up a second booking in the match for stopping Jamal Musiala from breaking in the 120th minute to get sent off.

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To miss a semi-final of a tournament as big as the Euros by virtue of picking up two bookings over five games may seem a bit severe. But Roy Keane was not very sympathetic towards the players impacted by the ruling.

Speaking on ITV after the quarter-final, the Cork man said the Spaniards should know the rules and hinted at his own experience with yellow card tournament rules.

Keane explained: "They won't be too worried in the dressing room afterwards. The initial reaction is that you've won the game, you've got a squad of players, players will come in."

"You to have to deal with it. High-class problems..." Keane said.

"It could be worse, you could miss a final! The final is worse to miss, at least you have the opportunity to get to the final..."

He went on: "The players know the rules, there were some daft yellow cards there as well. You can't defend them that much."

It's important to remember that Keane himself missed Manchester United's Treble-clinching 1999 Champions League Final against Bayern Munich after picking up a booking in the semi-final against Juventus.

Under UEFA rules back then, bookings carried on all the way up through the knockout stages of a tournament, meaning that players could miss the final if booked in a semi-final whilst carrying another yellow card from a previous game. This rule was abolished in 2014 and cards are now wiped after the quarter-finals.

Despite the cards and controversy, Spain booked their spot in Tuesday's semi-final in Munich against either Portugal or France.

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