Referee Daniele Orsato was criticised by both Luka Modric and Gary Neville for his penalty call in Argentina’s World Cup semi-final win over Croatia.
The Italian referee pointed to the penalty spot in the 32nd minute of the semi-final clash after goalkeeper Dominik Livaković collided with a charging Julian Alvarez less than a dozen yards away from goal. Lionel Messi scored the resulting penalty, giving the Albiceleste a 1-0 lead and setting them on the path to victory.
Speaking to the media after Croatia’s defeat, Modric was clearly disappointed with Orsato’s decision to give Argentina a penalty.
“We will have to recover and try to win the game for third place. We are sad, we hoped to play another final, but that will not be the case. Kudos to Argentina.
“The penalty awarded is definitely a key moment. There is this corner that the referee doesn’t give us, then the penalty, which for me didn’t exist, because he shoots and hits our goalkeeper.
“I usually don’t talk about referees, but today it is impossible not to. Orsato is one of the worst I know and I am not just talking for today because he has refereed my matches many times and I never have a good memory of him. He is a disaster.
“It is clear that it changed the game a lot. But that’s how it was, we can’t change what happened. As I said, we have to recover and try to win the last game.”
The pundits for British broadcaster ITV agreed with Modric’s assessment of the penalty call, highlighting the controversy it caused.
Speaking in the studio, Neville said: “Not a penalty, not all all, I didn’t think it was at the time. The keeper comes out, he stops himself as the shot is about to be taken and Alvarez runs into him and takes his leg away. What is he meant to do? That is not a penalty.”
His fellow pundits agreed, with Ian Wright confused by Orsato’s decision not to review the incident on the VAR monitor, noting: “The referee hasn’t even looked back at it, I just don’t understand.”
Roy Keane couldn’t disagree with his colleagues, commenting: ““I agree with the boys, I don’t think it was a penalty, where else was he meant to go?”
Orsato is considered to be one of the most experienced referees in Italy and has overseen multiple cup finals in the past, including Bayern Munich’s Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain and the Coppa Italia Derby della Capitale final in 2013.
Neville’s mouth is like a conveyor belt at a rubbish dumping site. Consistently wrong about absolutely everything. The Croatian goalkeeper has come out, got nowhere near the ball and the clash with the striker was inevitable. Was it unfortunate? Yes. But was it an incident worthy of criticism? No! Neville is blubbering as yet again, his bunch of mediocrity riddled countrymen failed when facing a decent side. If it isn’t the players or manager, they have to criticise someone else to mask their own delusion.
They are not saying that the goalie did make a subtle movement of opening up his right leg which is why Orsato called for the penalty. Goalie came out did not get the ball and crashed into the runner. Or he crashed into him but by the letter of the law that’s a penalty. If Alvarez wasn’t stopped he may have had time to get the ball. But it was a tough call and I can see how Croatians would be upset. I personally would not have called it but to call Orsato a “disaster” is a little rich.
If that decision was for EngeRland, Wright and Neville would be sitting there saying ‘the clash was inevitable, the striker was trying to play the ball, and the keeper didn’t get out of the way’. And then they’d confirm their bias by saying something like ‘And anyway, we have been the better side, so we deserve to be winning’. If it isn’t Neville or Wright, then its another deluded loser pushing the same nonsensical agenda.
I don’t know about the penalty but Modric is right about the corner before their goal. Perisic’s effort was deflected and I was surprised Orsato and his team missed it.
For a team that is the underdog, these mistakes may cost them the match.
The only reason Rosario you comment is because you are Italian, someone called naturally an ITALIAN A DISEASTER dosen’t sit well with you. To bad so, sad….he surly is, biased at most, given the game is obviously fixed for Arogents to win…. Italian referee and FIFFFFA, ALL PAID THE REF to dump Croatia….I would call a rematch and take out all the Italians enough said….. now who’s the loser!!!