Croatia captain Luka Modric has launched a scathing attack on referee Daniele Orsato, after taking issue with the Italian's performance in Tuesday's World Cup 2022 semi-final defeat to Argentina.
The 2018 runners-up were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by Lionel Messi and co – and it was the decision which led to Argentina's first goal, a Messi penalty, that seemed to particularly rile Modric.
Orsato pointed the spot after adjudging Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic to have brought down Julian Alvarez – but Modric and co. seemed to think Alvarez had run into Livakovic.
That was the view of ITV pundits Roy Keane, Gary Neville and Ian Wright during half-time analysis (although co-commentators Lee Dixon and Ally McCoist sided with the Italian referee, believing he'd made the correct decision).
And Modric was similarly perplexed to Keane, Neville and Wright. The legendary midfielder – who, now aged 37, will surely bid the World Cup farewell in Saturday's third place play-off – said:
"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 they have to be done.
"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."
The third place play-off – in which Croatia will take on the loser of tonight's semi-final between France and Morocco – looks set to be Modric's 19th and final World Cup appearance.
As Croatia finished as runners-up to France four years ago, the Real Madrid man won the Golden Ball as the player of the tournament; he scored both of his World Cup goals at those finals.
