Croatia national team captain Luka Modric expressed deep disappointment over the implementation of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology following Croatia's elimination from the World Cup. The veteran player highlighted several crucial refereeing decisions that he felt harmed his team, including the disallowing of an equalizer in injury time that could have kept Croatia's hopes alive.
In his press statement, Modric specifically referred to the disallowing of Josko Gvardiol's goal due to an offside claim that he believed was unsupported by replays. He emphasized that there was no valid proof of a ball touch to declare his teammate offside, fueling doubts about the objectivity of the referees on the pitch.
In addition to the disallowed goal, the Real Madrid midfielder also questioned the penalty awarded to Portugal, which was converted by Cristiano Ronaldo. According to Modric, incidents involving physical contact between players from both teams should not be intervened by VAR. He criticized the technology's use as selective and often inconsistent when assessing 'grey area' situations in the penalty box.
Modric stressed that video technology should only be activated in the event of a clear and obvious major error, not to look for minor, non-crucial infractions. He felt frustrated that these controversial decisions had a major impact on his teammates' efforts, especially the young players who had sacrificed so much for this prestigious tournament.
Despite feeling aggrieved by the referee's decisions, Modric chose to end his criticism on a professional note. He expressed pride in Croatia's fighting spirit on the pitch and emphasized the importance of the team regrouping moving forward, even after swallowing the bitter pill of their elimination from the tournament.
