Croatia had their hearts broken by Argentina at the Qatar 2022 semifinals, as Lionel Messi and company handed them a 3-0 defeat to punch a ticket to the FIFA World Cup final. Luka Modric, however, was not happy with the refereeing.
Italian official Daniele Orsato sparked the Croatian star’s frustration with a penalty given to Argentina in the first half. Dominik Livakovic made contact withJulian Alvarez in the box, Orsato pointed to the penalty spot and Messi put his side in front.
Modric didn’t complain that much on the field, but in his postgame interview, he looked very disappointed with that decision. The Real Madrid midfielder congratulated Argentina, but felt like that penalty changed the game.
Luka Modric blasts referee Daniele Orsato: “He’s one of the worst I know”
“We were doing just fine until the penalty, which for me it shouldn’t have been awarded,” Modric said, via Argentine TV channel Deportv. “Idon’t usuallytalkabout referees, but today it’s impossible not to do so. He’s one of the worst I know and I’m nottalking only about today, because I had him before and I never had a good memory of him. He’s a disaster. Even so, I want to congratulateArgentina, I don’t want to take credit away from them.They deserve to be in the final. But thatfirst penalty destroyed us.”
The 37-year-old still took a moment to congratulate his opponents, making it clear he has nothing against them. However, Modric lookeddeeplyhurt by a decision that changed the course of the game and probably resulted in his final World Cup game.Using this World Cup Predictor, you can see every potential outcome of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.