The Croatian Football Federation has sent an official letter to FIFA president Gianni Infantino following Croatia’s 2-1 defeat to Portugal in the round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, RTL reported.
The Croatia FIFA complaint over VAR focuses on two key moments from the match, which Portugal won 2-1 to advance to the last 16 and end Croatia’s World Cup campaign. HNS is deeply dissatisfied with the way VAR and match technology were used, particularly the review that led to Portugal’s penalty and the decision to disallow Joško Gvardiol’s equalising goal, after Mario Pašalić was ruled offside following what HNS says was a non-existent touch by Igor Matanović.
HNS questions the process behind the decisions
According to HNS, the letter does not focus only on individual refereeing decisions, but on the process that led to them.
“The Croatian Football Federation sent a letter to FIFA president Gianni Infantino in which we expressed deep disappointment and disagreement over the match against Portugal, not because of refereeing decisions as such, because they can be discussed after every match, but because of the process itself that led to those decisions,” HNS spokesman Tomislav Pacak told RTL.
Penalty review and disallowed equaliser at centre of complaint
HNS said it believes the VAR protocol was wrongly applied in the incident that led to Portugal’s penalty, arguing that the referee should not have been called to review the footage.
The federation also objected to the decision to disallow Joško Gvardiol’s equalising goal, claiming that Mario Pašalić was ruled offside because of a non-existent touch by Igor Matanović, after the ball sensor indicated contact.
“More importantly, with Gvardiol’s equalising goal, Pašalić was ruled offside against the rules of football and the spirit of the game because of a non-existent touch by Matanović, simply because the sensor showed it,” Pacak said.
HNS said it supports the use of technology in football, but believes this was an example of its misuse.
“We believe this is a misuse of technology. We welcome technology in football, but we do not think this kind of application is useful for FIFA, teams or football fans,” Pacak said.
He added that HNS is aware the letter will not change Croatia’s elimination or ease the disappointment felt by players and supporters, but said the federation considered it important to formally warn FIFA and ask for a detailed explanation of the decisions.
A painful exit and the end of an era
Croatia’s defeat to Portugal brought an end to their 2026 World Cup campaign and was followed by Zlatko Dalić’s decision to step down as national team head coach after almost nine years in charge.
Read more about Dalić’s departure in Zlatko Dalić steps down after World Cup and three major medals.
