Luka Modric has slammed referee Daniele Orsato’s performance in Croatia’s loss against Argentina in the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup.
In a 3-0 defeat to their South American opponents on Tuesday night, Modric and his Balkan nation were unable to go to their second consecutive World Cup final.
They got off to a strong start, possibly winning the first 30 minutes of play, but shortly after that Lionel Messi handed Argentina the lead from the spot after goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic was said to have fouled Julian Alvarez within the penalty box.
Opinions on whether or not it was a penalty varied, and Modric was adamant that the Italian official had stirred up a bit too much debate with his selections.
“Argentina was a fair winner of the game, they were better, they deserved to win, but these things have to be mentioned, I generally don’t do them, but today they have to be done,” he said.
“I don’t like to talk about referees but this is one of the worst. I don’t have a good memory of him, he’s a disaster. For me it wasn’t a penalty.”
“Despite this, I don’t want to detract from Argentina. The penalty killed us. We have to recover for the third place play-off and win that game.”
Another scenario that added to the penalty dispute was the argument that a goal kick to Argentina was given when Croatia should have received a corner right before the penalty.
Mateo Kovacic claimed that the referee made two serious errors in both judgements.
“Both situations seem incredible to me, first that he did not give a corner and then that,” the Chelsea midfielder added. “I never talk about the referees, but they are huge errors and it cost us.”
Was it a penalty for Argentina?
Zlatko Dalic was left to lament the penalty call that he claims altered Croatia’s World Cup semi-final encounter with Argentina, but he still acknowledged the South Americans merited a spot in Sunday’s championship match.
At Lusail Stadium on Tuesday night, Lionel Messi and his teammates defeated Croatia, the runners-up in Russia 2018 World Cup.
Messi, the captain of Argentina, started the scoring with a penalty kick in the 34th minute after Croatia’s Dominik Livakovic tangled up with the opponent’s forward Julian Alvarez.
Mateo Kovacic, a midfielder for Croatia, appeared to be penalized for arguing too vehemently as they contested the decision. Dalic said that his team ought to have received a corner before Argentina advanced to force the penalty.
The former Al Ain manager said in the press conference following the game: “Everything was in our hands. We played well for half an hour and had possession. We were not a threat but did have control.”
“We conceded a goal, which was very suspicious. The situation leading to the penalty… it was a little too cheap, a bit too easy to be honest.”
“Our goalkeeper did what he did and these are the new rules. This goal took the match in a different direction.”
In the beginning of his press conference, Dalic, who four years ago led Croatia to their best World Cup result, congratulated Argentina on their victory.
He bemoaned the absence of a true striker in the lineup, claiming that despite having an abundance of possession, his team was unable to seriously threaten their opponents.
In Saturday’s third-place play-off, Croatia will take on Morocco which suffered a 2-0 defeat in the hands of France on Wednesday.
Luka Modric
Luka Modric, a professional footballer from Croatia who was born on September 9, 1985, plays as a midfielder for La Liga team Real Madrid and serves as captain of the Croatian national team.
He primarily performs as a center midfielder, but he is also capable of playing as an attacking or defensive midfielder. He is largely recognized as the best Croatian football player and one of the finest midfielders of all time.
In March 2006, Modric made his Croatian debut against Argentina and scored his first goal for the country against Italy in a friendly.
When Croatia qualified for every major competition, including the UEFA European Championship in 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020, as well as the FIFA World Cup in 2006, 2014, 2018, and 2022, Modric served as the “second Golden Generation.”
He was chosen for the Team of the Tournament at Euro 2008 which made him the second Croatian to be so honored.
Modric led Croatia to the 2018 World Cup Final after being eliminated in the group stage of his first two World Cups. He was also given the Golden Ball award for the best player of the competition.
He eventually went on to amass the most caps in the history of the nation in March 2021. Additionally, between 2007 and 2013, he received a record ten different footballer of the year awards in Croatia.
