Luka Modric said he thought the referee's decision was unfair.
Croatia national team captain Luka Modrić shared his thoughts on the controversial incident during the match against Portugal in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals, as reported by Zamin.uz.
In the final minutes of the match, a goal scored by Croatia was disallowed by the referees, sparking major debate. The experienced midfielder emphasized that the referee called offside based on the claim that Petković had touched the ball, but upon reviewing the video footage, the players did not observe such contact.
In addition to regular time, in the 13th minute of added time, Joško Gvardiol equalized by scoring into the opponent's net. However, after the main referee consulted the VAR system, he decided that there had been an infringement outside of play and disallowed the goal.
As a result, Portugal preserved their 2:1 lead and advanced to the semi-finals. According to One.uz, Modrić did not hide his dissatisfaction with the referee's decision.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Luka Modrić openly stated that he was not satisfied with the referee's explanation. According to him, none of the video replays clearly showed Petković touching the ball.
If the player did not touch the ball, then discussing offside was not even possible. The Croatia captain expressed regret that a fair decision had not been made.
It should be noted that Portugal had taken the lead through a goal by Gonçalo Ramos in the 90+4th minute. Although Croatia managed to equalize a few minutes later, the referees' decision ultimately determined the outcome of the match.
The disallowed goal and the referees' actions became one of the most debated topics among football fans. For Croatia, this loss meant the end of their participation in the tournament.
