FIFA officially took a stance on Croatia’s disallowed goal in stoppage time of their World Cup Round of 32 match against Portugal, which deprived the Croatian team from advancing to extra time and sparked intense protests. 

The world governing body states that the chip embedded in all balls used in the World Cup (Trionda) recorded the imperceptible but… real contact that Igor Matanović made with the ball, leaving the scorer, Josko Gvardiol, exposed.

“According to data provided by the Connected Ball technology embedded in the World Cup match balls, Trionda, it was proven that there was contact by Croatian player Igor Matanović during the play leading to the goal against Portugal, allowing the referee to correctly call offside and disallow the goal. The IMU sensors inside the Trionda ball are capable of detecting even the slightest contact, which appears to viewers during the broadcast as a “heartbeat graph,” and provide referees with an unprecedented level of data to make quick and accurate decisions,” FIFA states.

According to data provided by Connected Ball Technology, which is integrated into 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

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— FIFA Media (@fifamedia) July 3, 2026

*photo source: AP