Tony

[LERRY @_AsiwajuLerry]

The worst President FIFA has ever had.

[Samuel @SamueILFC]

Gianni Infantino needs to be kicked out of FIFA. He’s the worst thing to have ever happened to football.

[Josip @l3d1c]

Some people don't seem to understand why everyone is so outraged about the 🇭🇷 Croatia vs. Portugal 🇵🇹 robbery, so let me explain.

It's precisely because multiple things that would have lifted the offside were ignored, multiple things were handled differently than usual, and several suspicious details are present on top of it all.

So it's both the factually false detection of a touch that wasn't there, AND the way it was handled, which raises even more suspicion:

1. Even if Matanović's head 🤯 touched the ball, it didn't change the trajectory -> no offside

2. Even if Matanović's hair 💇‍♂️ touched the ball, hair is excluded in the offside rulebook -> no offside

3. Even if he did touch it with force, Veiga still went for the ball deliberately -> no offside

4. Offside is normally never checked at the screen by the main ref. Normally the VAR sees Veiga's header on the first replay, says "ah, Portugal touched it, no offside," and that's the end of it.

5. No change of trajectory is visible on the ball. Instead of blindly trusting a questionable chip inside the ball, the ref could have trusted his own eyes -> goal stands

6. Letting a minuscule alleged touch that didn't affect the ball overturn one of the craziest goals in World Cup history is suspicious in and of itself. It hints at an agenda or bias by the refs and VAR.

7. The penalty given to Portugal was already a false decision.

8. FIFA using B-tier referees raises the suspicion that they're chosen deliberately: a ref without a big name is more likely to enforce the rules to the letter, out of fear that FIFA won't invite him (and pay him) at the next tournament. A big refereeing name would at least have the courage to decide by feel for the game.

9. Previous games where Ronaldo was already helped by the refereeing.

10. The observation that rules are applied far more strictly against small nations than against the big names.

11. Semi-automated offside tech was sold to us as eliminating human error. Instead, a sensor blip that nobody can see with their own eyes was used to overrule what everybody COULD see. If the technology can't be verified by the footage, the footage should win.

12.FIFA is visibly willing to trade away trust and raw emotion (nobody can celebrate a goal anymore before the check period is over, fans get fed up and stop watching because of this BS) in exchange for control over outcomes, because keeping the biggest names in the tournament as long as possible is what makes their commercial goals easily reachable.

[Neko @n3koficial]

Cabo Verde, eu te declaro o mais forte...

[DexF @futurxd]

El dios que gano de Rodillas

El humano que perdio de pie

[Jay Kim @luckymong1]

Vozinha for Cabo Verde against Argentina. #worldcup #onepiece #zoro

[Patrick Williams @EFCxGoat]

Disallowed goals for the opponents:

🇦🇷 Argentina in WC 2022: 0

🇵🇹 Portugal in WC 2026 (4 games): 5

But it’s rigged for Argentina 👍🏻

[ᜰ 🇦🇷🇯🇵 @markklfc]

Thierry Henry on Portugal being awarded a penalty after the VAR review:

🗣️ “I can't believe they've given that. For me, that's never a penalty. If that's enough to win a penalty in a FIFA World Cup knockout match, then we're setting a dangerous standard.

Croatia have defended brilliantly for most of the game, and now all of that hard work could be undone by a decision that I simply don't agree with. Football is a contact sport every bit of contact isn't a foul.

VAR was brought in to correct clear and obvious mistakes, not to manufacture penalties. The referee had a perfect view of the incident, yet after one trip to the monitor, he changes his mind. That's exactly why so many people are losing confidence in VAR.

If Portugal score from this, Croatia will feel they've been punished by the officials rather than beaten by football. Decisions like this can change the entire tournament, and for me, they've got this one completely wrong.”

[Flux🥂 @FluxCFC]

🚨Pierluigi Collina on Portugal being awarded a penalty after the VAR review:

🗣️ “This is simply not a penalty — I’m stunned they’ve awarded it.

Awarding a spot-kick for that kind of minimal contact in a World Cup knockout game risks creating a terrible precedent.

Croatia had been outstanding at the back all evening, and now their disciplined performance is at risk of being undone by an intervention I strongly disagree with. Football involves physical challenges; not every brush or nudge should be penalised.

VAR exists to fix obvious errors, not to go looking for fouls that weren’t there. The referee saw the incident clearly in real time, yet reversed his decision after checking the monitor.

Moments like this are precisely why trust in the system keeps eroding.
If Portugal convert this, Croatia will rightly feel the result was decided in the VAR room rather than on the pitch. Calls of this magnitude can swing an entire competition, and in my view, this one has been badly misjudged.”

[Troll Touchline @TrollTouchline]

🗣️Thierry Henry on CBS Sports

“we need to talk about this disallowed goal for Croatia, because for me? It’s not offside. It is simply not offside. I am looking at the replay, Kate, and I am trying to understand what the VAR is seeing, but I cannot. I’m sorry, I cannot. Croatia has been completely robbed here. Completely.

You know, at this point, just give the trophy to Portugal already. Seriously. Give them the trophy now, let everybody pack their bags, and we can all go home. Because it’s very obvious what is happening here. It’s glaring. They are doing everything they can to rig it for ‘him’
When you are a player and you work this hard, and a moment like that is taken away from you for absolutely nothing? It kills the game. It’s a joke, man. Truly.

[Arsenal Chizzy @ArsenalChizzy_]

🚨🗣️ Zlatan Ibrahimović on the penalty given against Croatia:

“What are we doing here? Seriously, what are we doing here?

That was clearly not a penalty. I don’t understand what the referee saw, and I don’t understand what VAR is trying to do anymore.

Football is a contact sport. You cannot give a penalty every time a player feels a little touch and decides to fall inside the box.

This is a World Cup knockout game. You cannot allow such a soft decision to change the entire direction of the match.

Croatia worked hard, defended well, took their chance, and then suddenly the referee gives Portugal a way back into the game.

If that is a penalty, then defenders should stop entering the box completely.

Big games deserve big decisions, not soft calls that look like they were made to create drama.

For me, that was never a penalty.”

[hana 🇧🇦🇫🇷🇪🇸 @may_equinox]

the world cup is really babying a 40 year old rapist

[MBAH @Mbahdeyforyou]

FIFA and the referee clearly wanted Portugal in the next round.

We will never forget this robbery against Croatia.

[🇺🇸🇩🇪🦉 @jonahcelona]

Apparently the spike in the snickometer was caused by the ball hitting Ruben Dias's arm. If that is so, this will go down as the most disgraceful World Cup match ever played

[➊⓿ @messiahballin]

Imagine if Argentina's opponents had 6 goals disallowed and 4 penalties denied in just 4 World Cup games.

The media wouldn't shut up about it. FIFA princess always getting away with corruption 🫠

[LM10 Brasil @MessiLeoBrasil_]

Portugal e Cristiano Ronaldo nessa Copa do Mundo:

- suspensão de 3 jogos do Cristiano anulada depois dele postar foto com Trump e Infantino na Casa Branca.

- expulsão perdoada do Bernardo Silva contra o Congo.

- pênalti não marcado e gol legal anulado da Colômbia.

- 2 impedimentos inventados pra Croácia.

Roubaram em 3 dos 4 jogos que disputaram até agora, mas ninguém vai falar nada sobre isso porque não se trata de Lionel Messi. 🤷

[T/R Football @Trfootballx]

🚨🗣️ Wayne Rooney: "Daylight robbery man, this is unacceptable. How is that offside when the ball clearly hit the head of Veiga! Saw Modric laugh and I said yeah the ref is a joke."

"Ronaldo and Roberto Martinez should know they don't deserve this win."

[Arsenal Chizzy @ArsenalChizzy_]

🎙️ **Reporter:** *Mateo, what's your reaction to Croatia's defeat?*

🗣️ **Mateo Kovačić:** "It's heartbreaking. We gave everything, but it's difficult to accept a result like this."

🎙️ **Reporter:** *What did you make of the penalty awarded to Portugal?*

🗣️ **Mateo Kovačić:** "For me, it wasn't a penalty. I still don't understand that decision. At this level, moments like that change everything."

🎙️ **Reporter:** *And the disallowed goal at the end?*

🗣️ **Mateo Kovačić:** "I've watched it back, and I honestly don't think it was offside. We thought we'd found the equaliser, only for it to be taken away. That's the hardest part to accept."

🎙️ **Reporter:** *Do you feel Croatia were unlucky tonight?*

🗣️ **Mateo Kovačić:** "I respect Portugal, they're a fantastic team. But if I'm being honest, we'll leave this stadium feeling football didn't decide the outcome. Certain decisions did.

That's what hurts the most."

[ᜰ 🇦🇷🇯🇵 @markklfc]

Iker Casillas on the referee and VAR after Croatia's last-minute goal against Portugal was ruled out last night:

🗣️ “I'm still furious about what happened last night. That isn't what VAR was created for. You cannot erase a moment that could define a nation's football history over a decision that takes minutes of slow-motion replays and microscopic lines to justify.

The referee completely lost control of the biggest moment in the match. Instead of trusting what he saw on the pitch, he let a screen make the decision for him. That's not strong officiating that's hiding behind technology.

My heart breaks for the Croatian players. They thought they had produced one of the greatest moments of the FIFA World Cup. They celebrated with their fans, they believed they had dragged themselves back into the game, and then everything was taken away in an instant. That's devastating.

Football is built on emotion, not frozen frames. When officials spend five minutes searching for a reason to disallow a goal, something has gone seriously wrong. The game is becoming more about technology than the players.

Portugal will take the victory, and that's football, but the conversation after last night won't be about the football it'll be about the referee and VAR. That's the biggest failure of all. On a night that should have belonged to the players, the officials stole the headlines, and for me, that's one of the most unacceptable decisions you'll ever see at a World Cup.”

[T/R Football @Trfootballx]

🚨🗣️ Jurgen Klopp on Fox Sports:

This is undoubtedly the worst refereeing decision I have ever seen in my career. They really robbed Croatia.