Croatia has officially lodged a complaint with FIFA following its controversial exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup against Portugal, citing what it described as an “abuse of technology” during a decisive moment in the match.
The Croatian Football Federation (HNS) submitted the complaint after Portugal secured a 2-1 victory in a match overshadowed by a disputed VAR decision.
The controversy surrounded a goal scored by Josko Gvardiol deep into stoppage time. Although the goal was initially awarded, referee Espen Eskas overturned the decision after a lengthy VAR review, ruling that Croatia was offside. According to FIFA’s technology, a slight touch detected by sensors inside the Adidas Trionda match ball altered the offside calculation.
The HNS argued that the decision relied too heavily on technology and went against the spirit of the game. The federation also questioned the VAR intervention that led to Portugal being awarded a penalty, which Cristiano Ronaldo converted in the 68th minute.
FIFA Stand On Croatia Complaint
FIFA defended the decision, explaining that the IMU sensors inside the Trionda ball are designed to detect even the slightest contact. The governing body said the information is displayed to viewers through the “heartbeat graphic,” helping match officials make quick and accurate decisions.
Despite FIFA’s explanation, Croatia believes the process exceeded the intended role of VAR and depended on technical data that players and supporters could not verify during the game.
HNS spokesperson Tomislav Pacak said the federation had written to FIFA President Gianni Infantino to express its disappointment with the decision-making process rather than the refereeing decisions alone.
According to Pacak, Croatia believes the VAR protocol was incorrectly applied during Portugal’s penalty and that Gvardiol’s late equaliser was ruled out because of what the federation described as a non-existent touch by Igor Matanović detected only by the ball’s sensor.
He said Croatia supports the use of technology in football but believes its current application is not beneficial to FIFA, the competing teams or football supporters. The federation also called on FIFA to provide a detailed explanation of the decisions made during the match.
Croatia captain Luka Modrić also voiced his frustration after the game, criticising what he described as double standards in the use of technology during major tournaments. The midfielder questioned the consistency of the decision-making process and suggested that the application of the rules did not feel fair.
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