National football association of a PSV player files a complaint against FIFA
1 min readIt will have escaped few people that PSV player Ivan Perisic was eliminated with Croatia at the 2026 World Cup last week by Portugal after a turbulent closing stage. Deep into stoppage time, it seemed the Croatians were going to make it 2-2, but this goal was disallowed after a VAR intervention for offside.
Just before defender Josko Gvardiol seemed to be about to equalize, teammate Igor Matanovic would have headed the ball on, which would have amounted to an offside offence. However, in the footage it is barely visible that Matanovic actually made contact with the ball.
According to FIFA, a sensor in the ball provided the evidence that the Croatian player did indeed make contact with the ball, which means that the goal was therefore correctly disallowed according to the world football governing body. Nevertheless, the Croatian Football Association is not satisfied with this.
In addition to dismissing the 2-2, the HNS (Croatian Football Federation) also believes that the penalty Portugal received was given easily. According to the federation, the VAR should not have called the referee over.
Yet it is the disallowed equalizer that gives the HNS the most frustrations. “Although the sensor indicated it, Matanovic had not touched the ball. It is contrary to the rules and the spirit of football to call offside,” says the football association in a statement to FIFA.
''We are of the opinion that this is abuse of technology, which we celebrate in football, but we believe that this application is not beneficial for FIFA, the teams, and football fans. We know that our letter will not ease the pain and disappointment of fans and players, but we believe it is important to warn FIFA and demand a detailed explanation of all decisions'', concludes HNS.
Comments3
De HNS zegt "in strijd met de regels en de geest van het voetbal" maar dat is makkelijker praten als je gelijk hebt. Als een sensor aangeeft dat Matanovic de bal raakt, dan moet FIFA dat onderbouwen. Anders krijg je elke week gezeik over technologie en dat wordt ook nergens beter van.
tbh dat buitenspel verhaal klinkt echt te bizar voor woorden. als je nauwelijks ziet dat Matanovic raakt en FIFA zegt "sensor bewijs"... dan voelt het toch als technologie die regels vervangt. ⚽💀
Ik snap wel waarom ze boos zijn, maar als die bal-sensor echt "raak" zegt dan is buitenspel helaas gewoon het systeem dat wint. Tbh het is toch van de gekke dat op beelden nauwelijks te zien is dat Matanovic hem raakt... maar VAR gaat blijkbaar op data.