Croatia coach calls out ‘poor’ refereeing after World Cup loss to Portugal
A matchup between Croatia and Portugal featured plenty of drama, as it involved two strong teams featuring superstars Luka Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Much of the story of this game was focused on how this could be the final appearance in a World Cup game for Modric or Ronaldo. The latter was part of the winning side, scoring a penalty kick to tie the game for Portugal in the second half.
Modric was unfortunately on the losing side of a disappointing 2-1 loss, which included a late-game goal disallowed by VAR that would’ve tied it.
“I don’t want to comment on it too much, but the refereeing was definitely very poor. Nothing went our way — not a single foul, not a single decision. Nothing was favorable for us. But that’s not the reason we lost. The refereeing was poor,” Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic said, adding, “Croatia lost, and I don’t really have the right to complain.”
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The controversial moment happened in the late moments of the game as Mario Pasalic was called offside by VAR, disallowing a goal that would’ve tied it 2-2 for Croatia. A chip installed inside the game balls allows for the detection of a player touching the ball, and that technology helped make the ruling.
Croatia’s players weren’t happy, and neither were their fans, who threw objects on the field to protest the call. However, it seems rather indisputable with the technology involved.
According to ESPN’s report, as of that game, there were 10 goals disallowed by VAR at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, including Thursday night’s, which Croatia thought kept their tournament alive.
“There is no subjective opinion — the chip of the ball shows. There was no bad decision, no unlucky call,” Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez said. “Today was clear, and the technology helped. It showed us that. Today we were fortunate.”
Thursday night’s game saw Portugal receive six fouls, and Croatia receive 12, including one that led to Ronaldo’s game-tying penalty-kick goal. Portugal also dominated possession 60% to 40%, controlling the ball for most of the game.
The final score was 2-1 in favor of Portugal, thanks to Ronaldo and, later, his teammate Goncalo Ramos giving Portugal the lead four minutes into the second half’s extra time.
They’ll face a massive challenge in their Round of 16 matchup, as they play 18-year-old phenom Lamine Yamal and Spain on Monday.
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