In the 13th minute of stoppage time, Croatia thought they had forced extra time against Portugal at the World Cup. After a scramble in the box, the ball ended up in the net, but the goal was disallowed following a VAR review. The decisive factor was a minimal contact between the ball and the hair of Igor Matanović, detected by a microchip inside the football.
The first half of the match offered little excitement, but the game accelerated after the break. Substitute Igor Matanović was involved in Ivan Perišić’s opening goal. Minutes later, Cristiano Ronaldo also beat the Croatian goalkeeper, but his goal was ruled out for offside. Ronaldo then scored from a penalty awarded for a foul on Renato Veiga. The drama continued: in the 81st minute, Croatia had a goal disallowed for offside as well. When Gonçalo Ramos made it 2–1 for Portugal, the game seemed decided.
VAR and the chip: how technology decided the game
In the 13th minute of added time, Croatia launched one final attack. Ivan Perišić crossed into the box, the ball passed close to Igor Matanović’s head, then deflected off the back of Renato Veiga, next off Mario Pašalić, and finally went into the net. Croatian players celebrated, convinced they had equalised. Referee Espen Eskas was called to the VAR monitor. The key question was whether the ball had touched Matanović. If not, Pašalić would not have been offside and the goal should have stood. If Matanović had touched it even slightly, Pašalić’s offside position would be clear and the goal voided.
Television replays were inconclusive. The ball appeared to miss the striker’s head by a few centimetres; there was no visible change in trajectory or spin. The decisive evidence came from the sensor inside the ball. The system registered a very faint contact with Matanović. According to the reading, the striker had brushed the ball only with his hair. That minimal touch led the officials to conclude that Mario Pašalić was offside and the goal could not stand.
Player admission confirms the call
The decision sparked huge debate. Many fans noted that no camera angle showed any contact. Some even suggested the chip might have picked up the bounce off Veiga’s back rather than the touch from Matanović. The referees also analysed Veiga’s role. If they had deemed that the Portuguese defender deliberately played the ball, the offside would have been cancelled and Croatia would have had extra time. The referee ruled the contact was accidental.
Doubts were finally cleared by Matanović himself. After the match, he admitted feeling a slight touch. – To be honest, I felt a light touch on my hair and asked the referee what was going on. I wasn’t 100 percent sure if I touched it. He told me there is a chip in the ball and that contact was made, so it was offside – said Igor Matanović, Croatian forward.
The striker’s words confirmed the correctness of the decision. Portugal advanced and Croatia were eliminated from the World Cup by a matter of millimetres – specifically, the contact between the ball and a Croatian player’s hair.
Źródło: Polsat News, Fot. Polsat News
