Too Unfair an Elimination? Croatia Had 3 Goals Disallowed! Coach and Players Slam: VAR Favored Portugal, Hard to Accept

In a crucial Round of 16 World Cup clash ending on July 3rd Beijing time, Croatia lost 1-2 to Portugal, missing out on a spot in the last 16. The second half saw three Croatian goals ruled out, which left the squad and coaching staff feeling very aggrieved after the game.【Watch the World Cup on Migu Video】

Especially in the closing stages, Gvardiol netted what looked like a late equalizer, but VAR stepped in and disallowed the goal. The reason was that a teammate in an offside position, Matanovic, had barely touched the ball with his hair, as detected by the embedded ball chip, which dashed Croatia's final hopes of advancing.

Furthermore, goals by Stanisic in the 56th minute and Sucic in the 80th minute were also ruled out for offside.

After the match, Croatian head coach Dalic angrily slammed the decision: "Losing and being eliminated this way is hard to accept. Perhaps we shouldn't have lost,We were evenly matched with Portugal in the second half. We were actually the better side. Three VAR checks, all three went against us, favoring our opponents (Portugal)."

Dalic was not alone; many Croatian players also questioned the refereeing decisions. A tearful Kovacic stated after the elimination: "It's very hard to accept being knocked out like this. Croatia played exceptionally well in the second half."

Baturina directly said: "Our elimination was too unjust. Today, luck was more on Portugal's side! Regarding the disallowed equalizer, I asked the referee what he actually saw, and he said he didn't see anything clearly. I am truly sorry it ended this way; we shouldn't have been eliminated like this."

Bayern Munich star Stanisic also said helplessly: "We were very lucky in previous World Cups, and we must admit that. Unfortunately, luck wasn't on our side today. Games like these are decided by such moments; you need luck."

After failing to reach the last 16 in this World Cup, Croatia's "golden generation" has come to a sorrowful end. Losing and saying goodbye in such an unfortunate way is truly heartbreaking.

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