Martinez defends VAR as Dalic laments ‘joyless football’

Portugal Coach Roberto Martinez defended the technology that ruled out Croatia’s dramatic stoppage-time equaliser against his side, saying the “chip” inside the match ball left no room for debate, while Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic lamented that VAR is stripping football of its emotion.

Croatia thought they had forced extra time in their World Cup Round of 32 clash when Josko Gvardiol bundled home in the 13th minute of stoppage time in Toronto. However, after a lengthy Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review, the goal was disallowed as the connected-ball technology detected a slight touch from striker Igor Matanovic, with Mario Pasalic in an offside position during the build-up.

“The message is very clear: The balls now have a chip, and it’s very clear, and that’s why the VAR intervened,” Martinez told reporters after Portugal’s dramatic 2-1 victory.

“There is no subjective opinion. The chip in the ball shows there is a touch from Matanovic, and when it happens, Pasalic is offside.

“It’s a shame that one of the teams had to lose today, but there was no bad decision, no unlucky call today. It was clear-cut, and technology helped. We were fortunate with a moment, but it was a clear moment.”

Dalic, however, argued that while VAR can be useful, it comes at the cost of the game’s spontaneity.
“You were able to see to what extent emotions have been literally killed, and altogether these decisions take you back and actually take the joy out of football,” he said.

“I’m not saying that sometimes VAR can’t be of help, but it kills the emotions, it kills everything within you, it kills what you are experiencing, and it’s not easy to deal with all of this.”

The decision hinged on FIFA’s connected-ball technology, which uses an embedded chip to detect even the slightest contact with the ball. The system had already played a decisive role earlier in the tournament during Sweden’s group-stage match against Tunisia, when VAR overturned an offside decision after the chip detected a faint touch that altered the phase of play.

On Friday, it was Portugal who benefited from the technology as Gvardiol’s late strike was ruled out, sending Martinez’s side through to a last-16 meeting with Spain while bringing Croatia’s World Cup campaign to a heartbreaking end.