Cristiano Ronaldo gave a lesson to the Croatian players after full-time (Image: Getty)
Croatian national team midfielder Petar Susic has revealed the comforting words Cristiano Ronaldo said to him immediately after their side were eliminated from the World Cup. Gonzalo Ramos scored the winning goal in stoppage time and Josko Gvardiol’s controversial equalizer was canceled out as Portugal won 2-1 in a thrilling World Cup last-32 battle in Toronto.
In the 103rd minute, VAR intervened during the build-up and ruled the team offside, and Gvardiol’s equalizing goal was cruelly denied, leaving Croatia’s hearts shattered. Match ball technology revealed that Igor Matanovic had touched the ball, and Mario Pašalić was ruled offside.
The decision infuriated Zlatko Dalic’s team, with angry fans throwing bottles onto the pitch. Ronaldo enjoyed his own celebrations and was quick to pay tribute to the late Diogo Jota, but also found time to comfort Suchic, who was crying on the floor.
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“Honestly, I was very upset,” he said. “But he (Ronaldo) told me that this is football, that there are going to be difficult moments in football, but I’m good and if I keep moving forward, the future will be better.”
The midfielder was disappointed with the way the loss was lost and wanted an explanation as to why the referee had canceled the goal. “I feel empty, but I’m proud of the way our team played, especially in the second half,” he said.
“We deserved more, at least extra time in the end, because we played really well and had a lot of chances. The goalkeeper defended well and they disallowed three of our goals. I would like someone to explain some of the referee’s decisions.”
“Doubtful, there were too many situations against us. In the end we have to congratulate Portugal for coming through.”
Petar Sučić after Croatia’s loss to Portugal at the World Cup (Image: Getty)
After the match, FIFA explained how it was established that there was contact with the ball to prevent Croatia’s goal.
“Data provided by the connected ball technology housed inside the @adidasfootball Trionda, the official match ball of the @FIFAWorldCup, proves that Croatia’s number 20 Igor Matanovic made contact during the build-up to the goal against Portugal, allowing the referee to accurately determine offside and invalidate the goal.”
“The MU sensor housed within the Trionda Ball will be able to determine every slight touch, which will be displayed to viewers on broadcast as a ‘heartbeat graphic’, giving authorities an unprecedented level of data to make quick and accurate decisions.”
However, that explanation did not satisfy Mr. Suchic, and he remains unconvinced that there was contact. “The referee said that Matanovic played with the ball and the sensor inside the ball showed it. I don’t know what to say. It’s hard to explain. Someone should have explained it to us,” he said.
“In my opinion, Matanovic didn’t touch the ball and it was an ordinary goal. Maybe I should have looked better more often. I also think I should have analyzed my goal better to see if it was offside.”
But Matanovic admitted after the match: “To be honest, I felt like my hair was touched a little bit.”
Ronaldo’s first World Cup final goal canceled out Ivan Perisic’s opener and Ramos’ goal four minutes into stoppage time against Spain on Monday sealed a draw in the last 16 after four shots were ruled out for offside.
However, despite his team’s anger, Croatian coach Dalic refused to give detailed thoughts on his team being denied a last-minute equalizing goal.
“I don’t really comment on that, but I will say that the officiating was very bad,” he said. “There were no fouls or set pieces on our side, which was natural. But that’s no reason to talk about the defeat. It was very bad refereeing.
“You can see how much emotion has been killed and all these decisions have brought you back and actually taken the joy out of football. VAR kills emotion, it kills everything inside you. We have gone too far with VAR.”
