Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 07:12am on 04 Jul 2026,Saturday Sports
Croatia captain Luka Modrić strongly criticised VAR after his side's dramatic 2-1 FIFA World Cup Round of 32 defeat to Portugal. Modrić argued that the penalty awarded to Cristiano Ronaldo was unfair and claimed VAR would not have intervened had the situation been reversed. He also questioned the decision to disallow Croatia's stoppage-time equaliser for offside following a lengthy VAR review. Despite praising his team's second-half display, Modrić said Croatia deserved a better outcome. The controversial officiating has sparked widespread debate over VAR's influence on crucial World Cup knockout matches. (PC: X)
