(Observer Network News) In the early morning of December 14, Beijing time, in the semifinals of the Qatar World Cup, Messi led Argentina to a 3-0 victory over Croatia, and in the first half, Croatian "goalkeeper" Livakovic fouled in the box and knocked down the opposing player, Argentina knocked on the opponent's goal with a penalty, paving the way for victory. The penalty sparked dissatisfaction among Croatian generals, and the controversy over whether the penalty was reasonable spread from the field to the sidelines, and in the broadcast of the British and Australian media, the opinions of the celebrities were divided.
After the game, Modric accused referee Daniele Orsato of "a disaster." Croatia boss Dalic called the decision a bit "doubtful": "I wouldn't say we were against the referee, but [Argentina's] first goal took the game in another direction", but he also admitted that there was nothing to complain about, Croatia deserved defeat and praised Argentina's performance.
The match was referived by Italian whistle Olsato, who whistled the opening match between Qatar and Ecuador in this World Cup, and he also officiated Argentina's 2-0 Mexico match in the group stage.
The penalty that caused dissatisfaction with the "Plaid Legion" came in the first half of the semifinals.
In the 31st minute, Croatian No. 4 Perisic shot off the line, Perisic thought that the opposing player had rubbed the ball with his foot and signaled to the referee that a corner kick should be given, but the referee gave the goal and the game continued.
In the 32nd minute, Argentina's Enzo Fernandez crossed the ball in midfield, Alvarez inserted into the box to receive it, and the shot was knocked down by Croatian goalkeeper Livakovic when he picked it out. The ball had now passed the goalkeeper but was stopped by the Croatian defenders.
Orsato immediately awarded the penalty and showed Livakovic a yellow card, which he believed was a foul by the goalkeeper in the box. VAR (Video Assistant Referee) did not intervene in this penalty.
Source: Oriental IC (the same below)
According to the replay, Livakovic intended to save the ball, but he did not touch the ball when he intercepted the opposing player in the box, but touched the opposing player. His foul was not disputed, but whether the penalty was too heavy has sparked debate.
Croatia's Modric, Perisic, Brozovic and Novak Kovacic went to the referee to protest the penalty award, and Mateo Kovacic was yellow carded during this period.
After the controversy on the field subsided, the atmosphere off the field remained tense. After the fourth referee alerted Orsato to the protest from the sidelines, Orsato showed a red card to a member of the Croatian coaching staff.
Croatian coach Dalić was puzzled when Orsato showed his red card, with the penalized Mandzukic out of frame
Italian sports media "RAI Sport" reported that it was Croatian assistant coach Mandzukic who was sent off for protest. The 36-year-old former Croatia international, who finished runners-up at the 2018 World Cup, is part of Croatia's "golden generation" and has only won one red card in his entire career, accumulating two yellow cards on one occasion.
Mandzukic
The match continued, with Messi scoring Alvarez's penalty to give Argentina a 1-0 lead, and the Tango Army extended their advantage in the 39th and 69th minutes to win 3-0 over Croatia and reach the World Cup final for the first time in eight years.
Messi penalty point
As for the reasonableness of the penalty award, the commentators of ITV disagreed.
Ireland's Roy Keane, England's Gary Neville and Ian Wright all questioned the referee's decision, saying that if Livakovic had continued to tackle Alvarez, it would have been fine to award a penalty, but the problem was that Livakovic had stopped at the time.
Neville said: "The goalkeeper came out and he stopped before the opponent was ready to shoot, Alvarez ran towards him and hit him in the leg. So what should he (Livakovich) do? No penalties should be taken. ”
Neville also launched a vote on Twitter to see what netizens think. At present, however, the majority of people support the penalty award, accounting for 60.7%.
Former Scottish footballer Mags said the referee's decision was entirely correct: "I can't understand why they [their commentators] think it shouldn't be a penalty, a foul that would result in a free kick anywhere on the pitch. ”
Former Irish international Kevin Kilbani also expressed his views on social platforms, saying that it was an undisputed penalty and "there is no room for discussion".
The same discussion also appeared in the broadcast of Australian media. Australian legends Foster and Bosnage had a disagreement over the commentary of the match on SBS broadcaster Australia.
Bosnić believes that Livakovic is there to save the ball and cannot jump away just because someone is going to collide with him, so as not to award Argentina a penalty.
But in Foster's view, Livakovic's actions had already fouled the opposing player, the ball was picked up, and if the goalkeeper did not knock down Alvarez, the latter could go around the goal and continue to attack.
Famous football commentators Zhang Lu and Zhan Jun believe that Livakovic does not take the initiative to save people, does not block the opponent's ball and does not pick up, does not have to give the "red dot package", and the yellow card is acceptable.
After the game, the Croatian players still did not put down the penalty. Modric continued to express his dissatisfaction in an interview with the media: "[Argentina's] first goal, my opinion should not be awarded a penalty. That put a little pressure on us and half a minute before that, we were supposed to be awarded a corner kick, but we didn't get it. ”
"We all did well before the penalty and for me that penalty shouldn't have been awarded. I don't generally judge the judges, but today I can't do that. He's the worst referee I know, and I'm not just talking about today, I've met him before and never had a good impression. He was a disaster. ”
The 37-year-old "The Magic Flute" also greeted his opponent afterwards, saying that even then he would congratulate Argentina and did not want to belittle the results achieved by the opponent because of the controversial penalty, "they should have reached the final, but the first penalty ruined us" and "they are the better team today".
Croatian midfielder Kovacic expressed his displeasure after the game that the referee did not give Croatia a corner kick and turned to Argentina for a penalty, "I can't believe it wasn't a corner, and then awarded (Argentina) a penalty. I never comment on the referees and have no intention of doing so, but these are two major mistakes that cost you". But he also congratulated his opponent.
In addition, Croatian defenders Sousa and Yuranovic also questioned the referee's "missed" corner kick and considered the penalty controversial, saying that they had controlled the situation on the field before this.
Croatian coach Dalic said after the game that the penalty was a bit "doubtful" but did not comment further on it, lamenting the team's ineffective possession in the opening period, Reuters reported.
"We had the ball but didn't create special chances. We wouldn't say we were against the referee, but the first goal took the game in another direction. Dalic said Croatia had a lot of good opportunities, but the offensive plan was not specific enough and lacked a breakthrough to break the deadlock.
"When we dropped the third goal, it was really hard to get it back. It was a well-deserved failure. ”
Dalic also praised Argentina's performance and Messi's excellent performance, and also revealed that his contract expires in 2024 and plans to lead Croatia to Euro 2024.
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