Slovakia Also Has Experience! Referees Kráľovič and Pozor Assess Disallowed Croatian Goal

A wild match featuring three goals scored and three disallowed delivered extraordinary football drama to fans, but also a highly debatable moment that will be discussed for a long time, especially in Croatia.

In the absolute dying moments of the game, as the Balkan side threw everything forward to equalize and force extra time, they managed to level the score after a quick rebound by Joško Gvardiol. However, Norwegian referee Espen Eskas, following a VAR intervention, ultimately disallowed the goal for offside against Duje Ćaleta-Car, who had the ball flicked on to him by Igor Matanović.

The issue was that Matanović's touch was imperceptible to the naked eye, but the chip in the ball ultimately detected the subtle contact. This sparked immense outrage from the Croatian camp, which continued in post-match statements after it was confirmed that Zlatko Dalić and his players were heading home. Portugal will now face Spain in the Round of 16.

"According to data from the Connected Ball Technology embedded in the official Trionda match ball, it was proven that Croatian player number 20, Igor Matanović, touched the ball in the action preceding the goal against Portugal, which allowed the referee to correctly rule offside and disallow the goal," stated an official FIFA release.

"IMU sensors located inside the Trionda ball can detect even the slightest touch. This is displayed to television viewers via a 'heartbeat graphic' (cardiogram), providing referees with an unprecedented level of data for making quick and accurate decisions," the communiqué added.

ŠPORT.sk sought the opinions of two prominent Slovak referees, Peter Kráľovič and assistant Ján Pozor, regarding the controversial moment. Both unanimously declared that Croatia's goal was correctly disallowed, even if it felt incredibly harsh for the "Vatreni."

"In this case, the chip in the ball was extremely helpful, clearly proving head-to-ball contact. At the moment of this contact, a pass was made to a player who was in an offside position. This automatically makes him offside, meaning it's an offside call," explained Pozor, a three-time best Slovak assistant with extensive international football experience.

"Nowhere is it written that a pass must change direction," Pozor pointed out, referring to the fact that the ball's trajectory did not change at all after Matanović's minuscule touch. "It's enough if a player just slightly lifts it with their toe, for example; it's considered that contact occurred at that moment, and that's the moment of the subsequent pass. The fact that it didn't change direction is irrelevant."

"That's precisely why this technology is so helpful, because if only regular video were available, it would be very difficult to determine if the heading player even touched the ball. However, in the VAR system, a clear graphical element, a 'hill' that pops up, confirms the contact," he mentioned, referring to the "cardiogram" recording that confirmed the subtle touch by the Croatian player.

Pozor also recalled a similar ball touch that helped Slovakia two years ago in their match against Belgium at EURO 2024, which led to Romelu Lukaku's 86th-minute equalizer being disallowed after Loïs Openda had subtly touched the ball with his hand.

"Similarly, it helped us at the European Championship in the match against Belgium. They also investigated and weren't sure if the ball touched the attacking player's hand. The system showed them contact, it was a forbidden handball, and the Belgians' goal was disallowed," said the 43-year-old experienced Slovak assistant.

Shortly after the "invisible" touch, the ball deflected off Portuguese player Renato Veiga's head towards Ćaleta-Car, who was in an offside position. This touch, although much more pronounced than the Croatian footballer's, was deemed negligible.

"It was an unconscious deflection, as that player had no control over the ball whatsoever. It's diametrically different from going into a header duel, seeing the ball, and having control over it. This player had no idea the ball would hit him," explained leading Slovak referee Peter Kráľovič to ŠPORT.sk.

"It was clearly not a defensive action. The Portuguese player certainly didn't anticipate the ball hitting his head. It would be different if he had it directly in front of his eyes, was looking at it, and intentionally wanted to head it away. However, he played the ball completely unconsciously and without intent," he added.

Both referees agreed that judging various situations is increasingly becoming "nuclear physics," making it complicated not only for fans but also putting referees themselves in increasingly difficult positions as they bear the weight of the final decision.

"I can imagine that the public is 'confused' by this, as they receive a lot of different and often contradictory information. It's not easy to understand immediately, which is why we explain the situation in such detail, to make it clear for everyone," emphasized Kráľovič.

"It's truly a science. Many fans are getting lost in it because there are so many rule changes year after year. The new offside rule alone was debated for five years. They discussed whether it would change and if the World Cup would be played with a wider gap between defender and attacker, and in the end, they didn't change it. It's challenging even for us to constantly adapt and implement these changes, but at least fans have something to discuss," Ján Pozor chuckled.