Video: FIFA Explains Why Guardiola's Goal Against Portugal Was Disallowed
FIFA commented on the incident involving the disallowed goal by Croatian national team defender Josko Guardiola in the World Cup match against Portugal. The federation stated that Connected Ball Technology detected a touch by a teammate, which confirmed the offside position and the correctness of the referee’s decision.
According to data provided by Connected Ball Technology, which is embedded in Trionda—the official World Cup match ball—it was proven that during the attack that resulted in a goal against Portugal, there was contact by Croatian player No. 20, Igor Matanović, which allowed the referee to correctly call offside and disallow the goal, FIFA stated.
FIFA also stated that the IMU sensors, embedded in the Trionda ball, are capable of detecting even the slightest contact, which is displayed to viewers during the broadcast as a “heartbeat graph” and provides referees with an unprecedented amount of data for making quick and accurate decisions.
Context
In the 90+12th minute of the Portugal-Croatia match, with the score at 2-1 in favor of Portugal, Croatian winger Ivan Perišić delivered a cross into the penalty area, where Igor Matanović played it on to Mario Pašalić, who passed it to Josko Gvardiol along the goal line, and the Manchester City defender equalized the score.
However, after reviewing the play via VAR, the referee disallowed the goal because Pašalić was offside at the moment of Matanović’s pass. Nevertheless, the replay does not clearly show whether Matanović touched the ball.
The Connected Ball Technology graphic, which shows touches on the ball, indicates that the Croatian forward did touch the ball, but fans are arguing why the technology didn’t show touches by Portuguese players, since the ball had touched Portuguese defender Renato Veiga before reaching Pašalić.
According to data provided by Connected Ball Technology housed within the @adidasfootball Trionda, the official match ball of the @FIFAWorldCup, it was proven that contact was made by Croatia’s #20 Igor Matanović in the build-up to the goal against Portugal, allowing the… pic.twitter.com/AyBz11N3wV
— FIFA Media (@fifamedia) July 3, 2026
Croatia was robbed; the ball didn’t touch number 20. pic.twitter.com/RAjNxrydAB
— Victor|football ⚽ (@NwoguChiulo) July 3, 2026
This angle proves it’s offside. The ball changed direction slightly. pic.twitter.com/rDC2sRaaJX
— Liu Yafei (@Yafei123) July 3, 2026
In Toronto, World Cup match broadcasts were canceled due to extreme heat.
In Spain, 1,028 deaths directly linked to extreme weather conditions were recorded in June.
The heat continues in Ukraine, with rain and thunderstorms possible in some areas.
