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Croatia suffered heartbreak following another contentious VAR decision at the 2026 World Cup, as their dramatic last-minute equaliser against Portugal in the round of 32 was disallowed.

Portugal looked to have secured victory when Goncalo Ramos found the net with a header in the 94th minute, putting his side 2-1 ahead after Cristiano Ronaldo had earlier equalised Ivan Perisic’s penalty opener.

Despite the setback, Croatia refused to give up and pushed forward deep into stoppage time. In the 103rd minute, a cross from the left was met by Mario Pasalic, who redirected the ball into the path of Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol to slot home.

For a brief moment, Croatia believed they had forced extra time with that late strike. However, the joy was short-lived as the Snicko technology embedded in the match ball – designed to detect even the slightest contact – revealed a faint touch from Igor Matanovic’s head before the ball reached Pasalic. This meant Pasalic was in an offside position when he received the pass.

Referee Espen Eskas was called to the pitchside monitor to review the sequence – an unusual procedure for an offside call – and after examining the footage, he ruled out the goal, effectively confirming Portugal’s place in the last-16.

The marginal deflection by Matanovic that placed Pasalic offside sparked outrage among Croatian supporters, who responded by throwing water bottles onto the pitch in protest, forcing a delay in the restart.

Ivan Perisic, whose fine strike in the 53rd minute had given Croatia hope of advancing, walked over to the stands to calm the furious fans before a replay of the offside incident was shown on the big screen at BMO Field.

According to BBC commentators, showing the replay was an attempt to ease tensions by illustrating just how narrowly Pasalic had strayed offside.

The controversy surrounding the VAR decision stemmed from the reliance on Snicko technology, as the touch detected was so subtle it was barely visible to the naked eye.

After the match, former referee Darren Cann backed the decision. BBC presenter Mark Chapman read out a message from Cann, who explained: “He was offside when the ball was last played by a teammate, and since the ball was deflected off a defender rather than deliberately played, the offside stands. Snicko 100 percent proves he touched it with the flick-on.”

As the final whistle sounded, a devastated Croatia side bowed out of the tournament while Portugal advanced to face Spain in the last-16. Manchester City midfielder Mateo Kovacic was seen in tears and had to be comforted, while the match also marked the end of 40-year-old captain Luka Modric’s illustrious World Cup journey, having previously led Croatia to a final and a semi-final in the past two editions.