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Article 11 explains the confusion at one of the most controversial moments of the 2026 World Cup.
The match between Portugal and Croatia in the 2026 World Cup round of 32 saw one of the most controversial refereeing moments after the referee disallowed a stoppage-time goal by defender Joško Guardiol following intervention by video technology, which used the “connected ball” technique to confirm the existence of an offside situation.
The incident occurred in second-half stoppage time in the early hours of Friday, with Portugal leading 2-1, as Guardiol managed to score before the video referee intervened to review the play.
The referee showed that the Croatian striker Igor Matanovic touched the ball very lightly before it reached Mario Pasalic, which put the latter in an offside position.
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) released an official statement confirming the validity of the offside decision as “The technique of contact with the ball confirmed that the Croatian Igor Matanovic touched the ball Before going to Guardiola.”
Although the ball hit Portuguese defender Renato Vega on the head immediately afterwards, the referee ruled that the touch was not intentional and ruled out an offside incident, so the goal was officially disallowed.
Former English referee Andy Davies said on the net ESPN:The American, “The assessment itself was clear as the graph provided by the connected ball technology showed a clear bounce confirming that Matanovic had touched the ball, something that had also happened previously in the current World Cup match between Sweden and Tunisia.”
Davies explained another aspect of the strike, which caused confusion among a number of supporters after the ball rebounded off the Portuguese defender.
In this regard, the English specialist said: “Normally, when the ball hits one of the defending players, as it did with Vega, it would again count as an offside case, making Guardiola’s goal correct.”
Then he added: “But accordingly According to Article 11 of the Laws of Football, which deals with offsideThe play is not replayed unless the defender intentionally plays the ball, and since the ball unintentionally bounced off Vega’s head, it is not considered intentional play and therefore the offside situation continues, so the decision to disallow the goal is correct.”
⚽️🔥 The excitement continued until the last moments… In the crucial time, Croatia equalized the score, but the video technology canceled the goal. 🎥❌#WorldCup2026 |: #WorldCup2026 |: #World Cup#beINWC26 |: #FIFAWorldCup2026 |: #fifaworldcup pic.twitter.com/LBR3xNF1ZJ
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) July 3, 2026
