TORONTO — football’s international governing body FIFA has issued a formal defense of the controversial video assistant referee (VAR) decision that denied Croatia a 103rd-minute equalizer against Portugal at the World Cup.
The technical ruling preserved a 2-1 round-of-32 victory for Portugal, ensuring that Cristiano Ronaldo’s final international tournament run continues while eliminating Luka Modrić’s side amid widespread fury from fans and players.
The incident occurred deep into second-half stoppage time at the Toronto Stadium when Manchester City defender Joško Gvardiol slid home a close-range finish to spark wild Croatian celebrations for what appeared to be a 2-2 equalizer.
However, after a length on-field review called by VAR official Jarred Gillett, Norwegian referee Espen Eskås overturned the goal on the grounds of offside. Broadcast replays across multiple camera angles appeared highly inconclusive to the naked eye, leading thousands of supporters in the stadium to believe that no Croatian player had touched the cross.
Furious Croatian fans hurled plastic bottles and objects onto the pitch in protest as the final whistle blew shortly after the decision. Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalić criticized the lengthy intervention after the match, stating that the micro-analytical nature of the technology was actively removing human emotion and joy from the sport.
In response to the mounting public backlash, FIFA released an official statement clarifying that the goal was correctly disallowed using advanced microchip technology. The body revealed that IMU sensors embedded inside the official Adidas Trionda match ball registered a definitive electronic spike, confirming that Croatia’s Igor Matanović had slightly grazed the ball. This contact immediately rendered the assisting player, Mario Pašalić, offside when the ball left Matanović’s head.
Portugal head coach Roberto Martínez strongly defended the technology, asserting that the data provided by the connected match ball completely eliminated subjective human error.
The outcome marks a historic moment for the 41-year-old Ronaldo, who scored his first-ever World Cup knockout stage goal from the penalty spot earlier in the match to cancel out Ivan Perišić’s opener. Gonçalo Ramos eventually scored the decisive goal for Portugal in the 94th minute before the late VAR drama unfolded. Portugal now advances to face regional rivals Spain in the round of 16 in Dallas.
