Luka Modric has accused the match officials of being swayed by the might of former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal following Croatia’s exit from the World Cup last night, claiming certain decisions were made on “the size of the team”.
Modric, making his 202nd and most likely final appearance for his country, was furious after Croatia were denied a last-gasp equaliser in the round of 32 game in Toronto.
Ivan Perisic put Croatia ahead only for a Ronaldo penalty to level the scores. Goncalo Ramos’ header in the 94th-minute appeared to have won it but there was still time for more drama with Josko Gvardiol seeing a last-gasp equaliser chalked off by the VAR, who used the footballing equivalent of cricket’s ‘snickometer’ to deem Igor Matanovic had flicked the ball on.
Modric insists there was ‘no evidence’ to support Croatia’s equaliser being ruled out
It appeared harsh on Croatia and Modric pulled no punches afterwards.
“He [the referee] says Matanović touched the ball, but we watched the footage, there’s no evidence that he touched the ball. If he doesn’t touch the ball, it’s not offside,” said Modric, who was even more incensed at the award of the Portugal penalty after Nikola Vlasic was adjudged to have dragged down Renato Veiga at a corner, referee Espen Eskas giving the spot-kick after being asked to review the footage on the pitchside monitor.
“We deserved a lot more. Some things didn’t go our way. That penalty… if it were the other way around, VAR would never have been involved,” he added to Croatian media.
“I said about VAR at the start, when it was first introduced, that I didn’t like it. Later, over time, it’s good for some things, but they use it incorrectly or use it selectively, or depending on the size of the team.
“VAR should intervene if it’s 200% a mistake, but if it’s not, if it’s in the grey zone there’s no point in calling VAR. This is no penalty. Both players are pushing each other, Vlašić didn’t pull him, he [Veiga] held him and both of them fell. That’s why you can’t call a penalty in a game like this.”
These decisions always work to Croatia’s detriment – Modric
He continued: “That annoys me and always works to our detriment. We won’t complain about it, but of course some things bother me because fate decides, it decides the mood for everything you do, what you give up, you tear yourself apart, you fight. There are young players who come here and then something like this happens to them.
“They [the officials] are to blame for that and it is always to our detriment. I won’t talk about it anymore, we can be proud of how we played, how we fought, how we represented Croatia, especially in the second half. That is the Croatia that everyone knows about, why we are so respected and loved in the world.”
Modric, 41, is now expected to retire from football altogether after a glittering career that saw him win six Champions League titles with Real Madrid, four alongside Ronaldo, as well as four La Liga crowns.
