Croatia lodges complaint with FIFA over controversial World Cup VAR decisions

(Photo: FIFA)

The Croatian Football Federation (HNS) has formally written to FIFA following Croatia’s controversial exit from the FIFA World Cup against Portugal, expressing its dissatisfaction with the officiating process and the use of VAR technology during the match.

HNS has sent a letter to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, outlining several concerns over refereeing decisions, with particular focus on what it believes was the incorrect application of VAR and ball sensor technology.

Croatia’s World Cup campaign ended after Joško Gvardiol’s stoppage-time equaliser was ruled out for offside. FIFA later explained that a sensor inside the match ball detected contact with the hair of Igor Matanović, resulting in an offside decision.

Speaking to RTL Danas, HNS spokesperson Tomislav Pacak said the federation’s complaint is not centred solely on individual refereeing decisions, but on the process that led to them.

According to Pacak, HNS believes VAR protocol was incorrectly applied when Portugal were awarded a penalty, arguing that the referee should not have been instructed to review the incident on the pitch-side monitor.

The federation also disputes the decision to disallow Gvardiol’s goal, saying that Mario Pašalić was judged to be offside because of what it describes as a non-existent touch by Matanović, detected only by the ball’s sensor.

HNS said it supports the use of technology in football but believes its application in this instance amounted to a misuse of the system. The federation argues that such an interpretation is not beneficial for FIFA, participating teams or football supporters.

Pacak acknowledged that the complaint will not ease the disappointment felt by Croatia’s players and fans but said it was important to raise the concerns with FIFA and request a detailed explanation of the decisions made during the match.

The letter has been sent directly to FIFA President Gianni Infantino as HNS seeks further clarification over the officiating and the application of technology in Croatia’s World Cup defeat to Portugal.