Controversial VAR decision prolongs Ronaldo's last dance and ends Modric's career


BBC commentator Steve Wilson called it “one of the biggest VAR decisions there has ever been”. After a dramatic and chaotic second half, Croatia thought they had equalized when Josko Gvardiol scored from close range in the 13th minute of stoppage time. The Croatian fans celebrated, while Cristiano Ronaldo, who had scored his first World Cup knockout goal, looked on desolately on the bench. Extra time seemed right. Then the video assistant referee - Premier League official Jarred Gillett - stepped in to check for offside. The big question was: did Croatia's Igor Matanovic touch the ball on the play? If he touched it, it was in an irregular position. If not, the goal would be awarded. A tense wait ensued as Norwegian referee Espen Eskas repeatedly watched the replays, which appeared inconclusive. But a spike shown by Snickometer-type technology suggested a touch, and the goal was disallowed. It was almost the last move of the match. The decision led to chaotic scenes, with plastic bottles being thrown onto the pitch by angry Croatian fans, as their World Cup dreams were cruelly crushed. For Croatian icon Luka Modric, 40, this likely marks the end of his World Cup career, while Ronaldo's journey continues - just hours after his sister claimed the tournament would be his "last dance". The game had it all: disallowed goals, a disputed penalty, intrigues involving Ronaldo and VAR controversies. What exactly happened in that dramatic ending? Snickometer - or Snicko - is associated with cricket, but in recent years, football has adopted similar technology. The Trionda match ball, made by Adidas for this year's World Cup, has a microchip that can detect when the ball has been touched. This allows accurate data, such as each individual touch of the ball with a foot or hand, to be sent to VAR in real time. Similar technology was used in the 2022 World Cup and the 2024 European Championship. In his post-match press conference, Croatian coach Zlatko Dalic refused to comment in detail on the denial of the goal. "I'm not going to comment much, but I will say that the refereeing was very bad," he said. "No fouls, no corners on our side that should have been awarded, but that's no reason to talk about the defeat. The refereeing was very bad. You can see to what extent emotions were destroyed and, in total, all these decisions take the joy out of football. VAR kills emotions, it kills everything inside you. We went too far with VAR." Portugal coach Roberto Martinez was clearer. "It's a shame that one of the two teams had to lose," said the Spaniard. "But there is no bad decision or luck. It was a clear moment. The balls now have a chip and the sensor shows that the ball has been touched." When the goal was scored, former England defender Matt Upson, speaking to 5 Live, said it was difficult to know in real time whether Matanovic touched the ball. Upson commented: "That rush of emotion of a last-second equalizer and then it's taken away from you. Did he touch it for good? We're watching a replay here. Can we guarantee he took a touch? The spin of the ball doesn't change, that's all I know. NoI think he touches the ball. That's the first image I've seen of it and I'm not convinced he touches that ball." After watching it again, Upson added at the end of the game: "From what I can see, I don't see any change in the direction of the ball. What's telling is that the spin of the ball doesn't change and it looks like Matanovic touched that ball, but it's interesting that they're saying he touched it beyond a reasonable doubt." Meanwhile, former Premier League assistant referee Darren Cann sent a message to Mark Chapman, who was presenting BBC One's coverage of the game, saying: "He was in an offside position when the ball was played in by a team-mate and the ball was deflected by the defender and not played deliberately, so the offside stands. The Snicko... that proves 100% that he played with his touch." Ronaldo has never won the World Cup and, on a thrilling night in Toronto, must have thought his dream of lifting the famous trophy was about to end when Ivan Perisic put Croatia ahead after a disappointing first half. The Portugal captain then had a sublime equalizer ruled out by a strict offside call, before scoring 1-1 from the penalty spot - the first goal he had scored in the knockout stages of the World Cup in his sixth tournament. Ronaldo looked devastated when he was substituted in the 81st minute of his 26th World Cup appearance. But that didn't stop him from running onto the pitch to celebrate when Goncalo Ramos put Portugal ahead 2-1 in the 94th minute, before Croatia's disallowed goal. Sport, said it was the right decision in the end to take Ronaldo off the field. “Cristiano Ronaldo had his moment and we had this debate, thinking about taking him off just before his disallowed goal and I said, 'you can't take him off',” said Walcott. “I think it was the right decision in the end, it really was.” 2030. The midfielder has already hinted that he is approaching a decisive moment with Croatia. Modric, who was making his 23rd World Cup appearance, was consoled by his former Real Madrid teammate Ronaldo after the final whistle. "I know I have reached a certain stage in my career," Modric said recently. Panama 1-0 in a group stage game. At the end of that game, Modric was lifted into the air by his teammates to mark his incredible milestone. But there were no celebrations this time for Modric, who made his debut for Croatia in 2006. "It's very tough for Croatia to go out like that, for Luka Modric, probably his last World Cup game," former Brazilian midfielder Lucas Leiva told BBC Sport "A legend of the game. I think he showed for 20 years how good he is. You feel sad for him, but he had a great career. He took Croatia to the highest level at the World Cup. A great player.

---

Related Articles

1. [Ronaldo Brilha and Portugal Beat Croatia in GameTram](https://quinasgoal.com/noticias/ronaldo-brilha-e-portugal-vence-croacia-em-jogo-electrico) 2. [Emotionaler Abend für Ronaldo und Portugal: 'Wir fühlten, dass Jota bei uns war'](https://mannschaftgoal.com/de/news/emotionaler-abend-fur-ronaldo-und-portugal-wir-fuhlten-dass-jota-bei-uns-war)