Croatia had their hearts broken by another contentious VAR decision at the 2026 World Cup after having a last-gasp equaliser chalked off against Portugal in the round of 32.
Portugal thought they had the game won when Goncalo Ramos headed home in the 94th minute, making it 2-1 after Cristiano Ronaldo had cancelled out Ivan Perisic’s opener from the spot.
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But Croatia kept coming deep into stoppage time and as the ball was whipped in from the left in the 103rd minute, it was met by Mario Pasalic who knocked the ball into the path of Manchester City’s Josko Gvardiol to convert.
It appeared that Croatia had saved their skin in the final seconds, with the game looking set for extra time.
However, the Snicko technology within the ball – which can detect touches – showed the faintest flicks off the head of Igor Matanovic as the ball came into the area, which as a result had Pasalic receiving the ball in an offside position.
Referee Espen Eskas was called over to the monitor to review the incident – an abnormal move for an offside decision – and subsequently overturned the goal, all but sending Portugal through to the last-16.
Igor Matanovic’s light flick meant Mario Pasalic was offside (Reuters)
Irate Croatia fans responded by peppering the pitch with water bottles in protest, causing a delay to the match getting restarted.
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Perisic, whose excellent finish in the 53rd minute gave Croatia real hope of progression, had to go over to the Croatia supporters to remonstrate with them before a replay of the offside was shown on the big screen at BMO Field.
This was perceived by the BBC commentators as an attempt to quell the rage of the Croatians by showing just how offside Pasalic was.
Where the controversy came into this VAR decision, however, was the complete reliance on the Snicko technology, with the touch being so faint that it was barely visible to the human eye.
Croatia fans hurl bottles on pitch in protest to their disallowed equaliser (Getty)
These doubts were not present in the mind of former referee Darren Cann, with Mark Chapman revealing a message he received from the BBC’s resident refereeing expert after the game.
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It read: “He was offside when the ball was last played by a teammate and the ball was deflected by the defender and not deliberately played, so the offside stands.
“Snicko, that 100 percent proves that he touched it with the flick-on.”
Croatia were nevertheless crestfallen as the final whistle blew, sending Portugal into a last-16 tie with Spain.
Man City midfielder Mateo Kovacic was in tears and had to be consoled, while this drama closed the book on 40-year-old Croatia captain Luka Modric’s World Cup career, who has guided them to a final and a semi-final in the past two editions.
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