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.