sportbible homepage
sportbible homepage
  • Football
  • Boxing
  • UFC
  • Home
  • Football
    • Premier League
    • Champions League
    • World Cup
    • England
    • Transfer News
    • Manchester United
    • Liverpool
    • Arsenal
    • Real Madrid
    • Barcelona
  • Formula 1
    • Red Bull
    • Ferrari
    • McLaren
    • Mercedes
    • Max Verstappen
    • Lewis Hamilton
    • Lando Norris
    • George Russell
    • Charles Leclerc
  • Boxing
  • UFC
  • More Sport
    • Tennis
    • Golf
    • NBA
    • NFL
    • Darts
    • Athletics
    • Rugby
    • Wrestling
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Archive
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Snapchat
TikTok
Threads
YouTube
Submit Your Content Here
  • LADbible
  • Tyla
  • GAMINGbible
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • FOODbible
  • UNILAD Tech
Huge VAR controversy at the World Cup as Croatia vs Belgium decision dubbed the 'worst ever'

Home> Football

Updated 16:24 1 Dec 2022 GMTPublished 15:47 1 Dec 2022 GMT

Huge VAR controversy at the World Cup as Croatia vs Belgium decision dubbed the 'worst ever'

Croatia thought they had a penalty against Belgium only for the tightest of offside calls to rule it out.

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover

Fans have been left fuming after an offside call in the Croatia vs Belgium game was branded "the worst ever".

Croatia started the brighter of the two sides in the final Group F clash and thought they had a penalty when Andrej Kramaric was fouled by Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco and a spot-kick was awarded.

Captain Luka Modric placed the ball and was ready to face Real Madrid teammate Thibaut Courtois. However, there was then a lengthy delay as referee Anthony Taylor was instructed to go to the VAR screen.

Advert

Officials checked for a possible offside in the build-up to the penalty incident and the semi-automated offside technology found that Dejan Lovren was off by the slightest of margins.


It was genuinely one of the tightest and harshest decisions ever seen, with the graphic showing that Lovren was only off by fingertips if anything.

While the call was technically correct, fans are beginning to grow frustrated with the way in which offsides are judged at present.

One user wrote: "What part of the body are they using to measure this? Shoulder?... Do they just randomly determine the most 'shouldery' part or the shoulder?"

Another said: "Scrap the line drawing marginal offsides in favour of the attacking team. It’s for the good of the game. This is so tight it would never have been called offside before the introduction of VAR.Time to tweak the rule."

A third added: "Can players not be level anymore?"

A fourth commented: "If I can’t tell who is offside from this image then it’s probably not offside."

As it stands, despite the controversy, both Croatia and Morocco are heading through to the knockout stages.

Meanwhile, the French FA are reportedly complaining to FIFA after Antoine Griezmann's goal was disallowed despite play resuming.

The IFAB – football's lawmakers – say a VAR check cannot overturn a goal once play has restarted.

Featured Image Credit: FIFA

Topics: Croatia, Belgium, Football World Cup

Josh Lawless
Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and WWE. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has covered two WrestleMania events for SPORTbible.

X

@joshlawless_

Recommended reads

Mark Selby lifts lid on backstage talks over Crucible as landmark agreement reachedGettyBarry Hearn sends message to Ronnie O'Sullivan over snooker future as Crucible prediction madeGettyTyson Fury explains why his 14-year-old son Prince has “no choice” but to become a boxerGettyTyson Fury targets Jon Jones clash as next move after boxing confirmedGetty

Advert

Choose your content:

2 hours ago
4 hours ago
7 hours ago
  • Getty
    2 hours ago

    Mo Salah 'receives offers' from two European giants as Egypt official leaks transfer

    Mo Salah is leaving Liverpool at the end of the season and two huge clubs have reportedly made contact.

    Football
  • Getty
    4 hours ago

    Liverpool enter four-way battle for one of the quickest defenders alive

    Liverpool are locked in a four-way battle for the defender, who could be available for transfer this summer.

    Football
  • Getty
    4 hours ago

    Erling Haaland purchases ultra rare car that only 150 people in the world have

    Erling Haaland has splashed out on the limited edition car, adding to his £10 million collection.

    Football
  • Getty
    7 hours ago

    QUIZ: Can you name every manager to take charge of a Premier League game this season?

    There are 31 managers in total.

    Football
  • FIFA announce brand new rules for 2026 World Cup including VAR overhaul
  • Donald Trump makes controversial ICE decision that could impact World Cup fans
  • Ian Wright calls out Mikel Arteta decision vs Man City that cost them Carabao Cup
  • Fans say 'cancel the World Cup' after hearing first official song