The opening game also saw a premature end to the tournament for Danish midfielder Allan Simonsen, who suffered a broken leg.

Then, in the dying moments of the match and with a penalty shoot-out looming, Platini scored his eighth goal of the championship to give France a memorable 3–2 victory.

The other semi-final between Spain and Denmark saw two evenly matched sides draw 1–1 after extra time, as Søren Lerby's goal after only seven minutes was cancelled out by Maceda’s strike an hour later.

Just before the hour mark, Platini scored from a free-kick to put France ahead following a mistake by Spanish goalkeeper Luis Arconada.

France were reduced to ten players when Yvon Le Roux was sent off, but Spain were unable to equalise, and Bruno Bellone's goal in injury time made the final score 2–0.

The small group of German hooligans responsible for the incidents was arrested and deported back to West Germany on the same day using a new law specially passed by the French Parliament ahead of the Euro.

Overall, the organisation was flawless,[citation needed] a feat that established France's credentials as a host nation and eventually helped it win the right to stage the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

The entire competition was marked by exceptionally fine weather which, along with the high quality of play throughout the tournament (a welcome change from the 1980 European Championship) and the absence of hooligans, contributed to a very positive and enjoyable experience for teams and fans alike.

[citation needed] The official mascot of this European Championship was Peno, a rooster, representing the emblem of the host nation, France.

It has the number 84 on the left side of its chest and its outfit is the same as the France national team, blue shirt, white shorts and red socks.

Marseille's Stade Vélodrome was expanded to 55,000 seats to host one semi-final and some group matches, becoming France's largest stadium on the occasion.

Lastly, two all-new stadia were built to host group matches (and subsequently provided worthy home grounds for the traditionally strong local club teams): Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes (53,000) was built on an entirely new site while Stade de la Meinau in Strasbourg was rebuilt from the ground up on the site of the old stadium into a modern 40,000-seat arena.