FIFA has confirmed that Croatia’s equalizing goal against Portugal was correctly disallowed for offside due to technology built into the World Cup ball.
Goncalo Ramos’ header gave Portugal a 2-1 lead in the fourth minute of stoppage time, but Croatia looked to have leveled the scores when Josko Guardiol put them level nine minutes later.
Ivan Perisic sent the ball into the box, it bounced off Renato Veiga and into the path of Mario Pasalic, and his touch sent the ball to Guardiola, who slipped home.
The goal was scored on the pitch and it appeared from television replays that Croatia’s Igor Matanovic had missed a header while trying to score, which would have meant Pasalic was in the game before Guardiola brought on.
Josko Guardiola’s last-minute goal was ruled out. Photo by Mattia Ozboth/Getty Images
However, referee Espen Escas was directed to the VAR monitor and FIFA’s inside-the-ball Adidas Trionda technology, similar to “Sniko”, showed that Matanovic had received a light touch after all, meaning Pasalic was offside in the build-up.
As the ball came near Matanovic, replays showed an image of a small spike suggesting he had actually touched it, ultimately ending Croatia’s World Cup hopes and sending Portugal into the round of 16.
The graphics displayed by FIFA in replays are similar to the technology used in cricket to determine whether a batter has caught the ball or not, but the ‘Connected Ball Technology’ comes from a chip that is stored inside the balls used in the World Cup.
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FIFA explained the decision in a post on X, which read: “According to data provided by Connected Ball Technology, hosted by @adidasfootball Trionda, the official ball of the @FIFAWorldCup, contact was proven to have been made by Croatia number 20 Igor Matanovic in the build-up to the goal against Portugal, allowing the referee to correctly call offside and disallow the goal.
“IMU sensors placed inside the Trionda balloon are able to detect any minor contact, displayed to viewers during the broadcast as a ‘heartbeat graph’, providing officials with an unprecedented level of data to make quick and accurate decisions.”