Following Croatia's World Cup Elimination, Luka Modrić Strongly Criticizes the VAR System

The Croatia national football team was eliminated from the World Cup after losing 2-1 to Portugal, and a controversial referee performance has started to dominate the agenda following this match. One of the most critical moments of the game was the penalty decision awarded in favor of Portugal and the equalizer goal found by Croatia which was disallowed. Team captain Luka Modrić, speaking to journalists immediately after the match, argued that his team had been wronged and stated that they showed much more sacrifice, especially considering the play in the second half. The experienced midfielder claimed that the penalty decision should never have been given and asserted that if it were a player on the opposing side, the VAR system would never have been consulted, expressing serious doubts about the referees' consistency.

Modrić reiterated his long-standing concerns regarding how the VAR (Video Assistant Referee) system is used, stating that the technology is applied inconsistently and emphasized that for an intervention to occur, the referee's error must be a clear and obvious mistake. Speaking to Jutarnji list, the star footballer said, "We truly deserved much more. Some incidents didn't go our way," reacting harshly, particularly to the penalty decision. "If the reverse were true, VAR would never have gotten involved. I said when VAR first came out that I didn't like this system. This is not a penalty. Both players are pushing each other, Vlasic didn't pull the ball, he just held on and they both fell. Therefore, you cannot award such a penalty in a match like this," he said.

The captain continued to express his discomfort with VAR usage, stating that the system should only be involved when the error is 200 percent certain, arguing that allowing decisions to become interpretive undermines justice in football. Croatia's biggest major disappointment in the match was the disallowance of their seemingly valid goal. The equalizing goal in the second half that brought the score to 2-2 was cancelled for offside, causing great sadness in the locker room. He argued that the decision was unfair, stating that the referee told the players after the match that Matanovic had touched the ball, but this could not be seen in the replays.

Speaking about the goal disallowed by the match referee, Modriğ summarized the injustice with clear words: "The referee told us that Matanovic touched the ball, but when we watch the images, we cannot see him touch the ball anywhere. If he doesn't touch the ball, it is not an offside." With this decision, the perception that VAR is used only to protect big teams gained strength among fans, and an perception formed that big nations are always luckier. The Croatian press carried headlines that the injustices applied to their team in this tournament were the determining factor in the failure.

With this defeat, Croatia ended its World Cup adventure early, suffering a major disappointment, and post-tournament reckoning has begun. Consecutive major tournament disappointments have created serious question marks about the team's future and squad structure. The psychological impact of this heavy defeat on the technical staff and players is expected to last for a long time. For one of the team's most important figures, Luka Modrić, this tournament is thought to be his last World Cup, as he will be 44 years old at the next organization.