VAR Controversy: Perisic’s cross slightly touched the head of Croatian midfielder Igor Matanovic. This became clear in the ‘Snickometer’ test, after which VAR declared the goal offside.
Toronto: The match between Portugal and Croatia in the World Cup knockout round became very dramatic in the last moments. In the last moments of injury time (103rd minute), Croatian player Yosko Guardiol scored an equalizing goal, but after VAR check the referee canceled it. This decision eliminated Croatia from the tournament and Portugal won 2–1 to reach the pre-quarterfinals. Let us understand what was the technical reason behind this decision which sparked debate in the world of football.
That dramatic moment in the 103rd minute
Portugal was leading 2-1 in the match and Croatia were attacking with full force for the goal in the last minutes. Ivan Perisic delivered a wonderful cross into the box, which Mario Pasalic stepped up to take. Meanwhile, there was chaos in Portugal’s defence. In the midst of this tussle, Yosco Guardiol got the ball and he put it in the goal post of Portugal. The Croatian team had just started celebrating when the referee signaled a VAR check.
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‘Snickometer’ technology in VAR showed that when Perisic delivered the cross, the ball narrowly touched the head of Croatia midfielder Igor Matanovic. The moment the ball touched Matanovich’s head, his teammate Pasalich was ahead of the Portuguese defenders, i.e. in a clear offside position. After hitting Matanovich’s head, the ball also hit the head of Portuguese defender Renato Vega. The rules of football state that if a defender deliberately tries to play the ball and the ball goes to an opposing player standing in an offside position, it is not considered offside.
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But here the referee, after watching the replays on the monitor at the side of the pitch, ruled that Vega had not played the ball intentionally, but the ball had simply bounced off him (which is called a deflection). Because Pasalic was offside at the time of Matanovic’s first touch and the Portuguese player’s touch was not intentional, the referee voided the goal.
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Penalty also remained in controversy
The penalty awarded to Portugal in the 68th minute of the match was also a big VAR decision. Replays clearly showed that while defending a corner kick in Croatia’s box, Croatian player Nikola Vlasic had pulled the jersey of Portugal’s Renato Vega and made him fall down. After this, Cristiano Ronaldo easily converted the penalty into a goal. With this goal, 41 years and 147 days old Cristiano Ronaldo also created a unique record in World Cup history. He became the oldest player in the world to score a goal in the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup. Ronaldo broke the record of his former teammate Pepe, who scored against Switzerland at the age of 39 in the 2022 World Cup. Apart from this, Ronaldo is also the first player in history to score a goal in a World Cup knockout after the age of 40.
‘European Classic’ in pre-quarters
Croatia took the lead in the match with Ivan Perisic’s goal in the 53rd minute, but Ronaldo’s penalty and then Gonsalves Ramos’ brilliant header in the 94th minute gave Portugal a 2–1 victory. Now Portugal will face Spain in the big match of the pre-quarterfinals.
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