Croatia dramatically saw a late equaliser against Portugal ruled out thanks to technology cricket fans will be very familiar with.
Josko Gvardiol thought he had scored an equaliser in the 13th minute of stoppage time to send the World Cup round of 32 clash to extra-time.
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The Man City defender tapped home from close range to spark wild scenes as Croatia thought they had made it 2-2.
The cameras cut to Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench, who had earlier been substituted, looking crestfallen.
With the game seemingly heading for a further 30 minutes – up stepped the VAR to check for offside.
Premier League official Jarred Gillet was the man in the booth who had a big call to make.
Croatia vs Portugal goal controversy?
The big debate was whether Croatia’s Igor Matanovic had flicked the ball in the build-up.
If the ball touched his head, then it would be offside. If not, then the goal would stand and the game would be heading to extra-time.
Initial replays were inconclusive, but a spike on Snickometer-style technology suggested it had touched his hair.
Former Nottingham Forest defender Luke Chambers told eSPORTY on live commentary of the Portugal vs Croatia clash: “The Snickometer says it did. From the replays and the angles we’ve seen it might have nicked a little bit of his hair.
“Had he had a skin fade on the side, I’m not sure it would have gotten a snick.”
What is Snickometer technology?
The technology, known as ‘Snicko’, has been commonly used in cricket for years to determine if a batter has touched the ball.
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It can detect tiny sounds that humans would otherwise be unable to hear.
The technology is in place at the 2026 World Cup, but has been sparingly needed so far.
The adidas Trionda match ball contains a built-in microchip capable of detecting when it has been touched.
This information is sent back to the VAR and Gillet spotted a spike and sent the referee to the monitor.
The goal was disallowed in virtually the last second, meaning Croatia were sent home.
Similar technology was used at the 2022 World Cup and 2024 European Championship.
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What was said?
Portugal boss Roberto Martinez said: “It’s a shame one of the two teams had to lose. But there is no bad decision or lucky decision. It was a clear moment.
“The balls now have a chip and the sensor shows the ball was touched.”
Croatia head coach Zlatko Dalic refused to go into detail about their denied late equaliser.
“I will not comment much about it but I will say the refereeing was very bad,” he said.
“No fouls, no set-pieces on our side which should have been but that’s no reason to talk about the defeat. It was very bad refereeing.
“You were able to see to what extent emotions had been killed and, altogether all these decisions take you back and actually take the joy out of football.
“VAR kills emotions, it kills everything within you. We have gone too far with VAR.”
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