ROMANIA officially protested to UEFA yesterday over the referee Peter Mikkelsen's handling of their Group B match with Bulgaria. And Russia, too, have complained about the standard of refereeing in the championship.

Mikkelsen, from Denmark, disallowed a "goal" from Dorinel Munteanu after the Romanian's shot had struck the underside of the crossbar and ricocheted downwards, a la Geoff Hurst in the 1966 World Cup final. Television replays showed that, unlike the England goal, the ball was clearly over the line.

Romania's players protested vigorously to the referee and both linesmen but to their astonishment play was allowed to continue. It meant the end of their participation in Euro 96 as Bulgaria sent them to a second successive 1-0 defeat.

Russia have sent a letter of protest to UEFA after video replays showed that Italy's first goal in their 2-1 defeat at Anfield on Tuesday was offside.

Vyacheslav Koloskov, president of the Russian Federation, said yesterday: "We've sent a letter drawing their attention to the fact that referees are an important component of the spirit of fair play, which UEFA want in this tournament."

Coach Oleg Romantsev added: "We are dejected by the low level of refereeing. If referees are not skilful enough, they should be suspended or replaced."

Defender Yevgeni Bush Manov has been ruled out of the rest of the competition with the knee injury he sustained against the Italians.