The Croatian press are venting their fury over the team’s last 32 World Cup exit.
Croatia were knocked out by Portugal in a stunning match that saw a late Goncalo Ramos winner.
Croatia then equalised in the last minute of stoppage time, only for the goal to be ruled out by VAR for the third time during the match.
In the ultimate ‘game’s gone’ moment, Josko Gvardiol’s equaliser was overturned due to a sound microchip in the ball registering the most marginal of offsides.
The match also Cristiano Ronaldo score his first World Cup knockout goal, coming from the penalty spot, and the Croatian press think the captain’s involvement was telling.
Croatia press blame Ronaldo
Leading outlet Jutarnji wrote: “Portugal is strong, they were better for most of the match, but we also had periods of dominance and great chances to win when leading 1:0 and 1:1.
“We killed ourselves, and the refereeing team set a noose for us. Everything was decided against us.
“This match will be remembered for many things, but for the worse.
“FIFA’s selection of Cristiano Ronaldo as the player of the match said a lot about what we witnessed.”
Modric attacks Portugal refereeing
It wasn’t just the Croatia press upset, but their captain and legend Luka Modric too.
Speaking post-match, he said: “It’s the selective use of VAR.
“When VAR was first introduced, I said I didn’t like it. Over time, it has proven useful in some cases, but it is either misused or used based on the importance of the team.
“VAR should only intervene in cases of blatant errors.”
On Ronaldo’s goal, he added: “For me, it wasn’t a penalty. They were battling and pulling each other.
“He took the shot, the other player was also holding him, and then they both fell. You don’t just give a penalty like that. It seems like it’s always against us.”
Igor Matanovic, who was deemed to have caused the offside with a barely visible touch, added: “Honestly, I think I felt a slight contact with my hair.
“I asked the referee, I wasn’t sure if I had touched him. He told me that the ball had a subtle touch, that there was a slight contact and that it was offside.
“It’s difficult to find the right words after the game. I’m still struggling to process it.
“We played very well in the second half and deserved more. I haven’t seen any penalties yet, but if you play like that… Three goals were disallowed… I have no words, we suffered a lot today.
“I had good feelings when I came onto the pitch. We played a very good game, but this hurts. Let’s move on, we have to look ahead and go to the European Championship.”
Croatia blame refereeing
Head coach Zlatko Dalic also gave his take.
“First, congratulations to Portugal and I wish them all the best for the rest of the tournament,” he said.
“The plan for the first half was not to concede a goal. We managed to defend and didn’t concede any goals.
“In the second half, we turned the game around, created many opportunities, and didn’t deserve this result. Congratulations to my players. I can’t accuse them of anything.
“The refereeing was very bad. The referee simply didn’t call fouls in our favour, and that irritated the team. It was bad refereeing, but Croatia lost, and there’s nothing we can do about it.”
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