It Was Never A Penalty—English Pundits Fume Over Croatia Injustice

The referee’s decision to award Argentina a penalty kick during their 3-0 victory against Croatia in the World Cup semifinals on Tuesday has drawn the ire of Premier League stars Roy Keane and Ian Wright.

Both men were furious after the contentious first-half penalty was given, exactly like the Croatia players.

Dominik Livakovic was found to have fouled Julian Alvarez within the penalty area, which allowed Lionel Messi to score from the spot.

The Croatian players immediately objected to the referee’s judgment, signaling it was never a malicious challenge but a fair challenge of a goalkeeper trying to make himself bigger to better defend the goal.

Keane and Wright supported the players, who were perplexed by referee Daniele Orsato’s ability to indicate the spot.

Wright said on ITV:

“The referee hasn’t even looked back at it, I just don’t understand.”

Agreeing with the analysis, Keane stated:

“I agree with the boys, I don’t think it was a penalty, where else was he meant to go?”

For what it was worth, the referee’s decision to award the penalty at the expense of Croatia to a stretch was an injustice on his part considering Julian Alvarez had ran into the Croatian goalie who was contesting for the ball.

There was certainly no way the Croatian goalie could have better positioned himself to defend against Julian Alvarez, an advantage the Manchester City player played to steal a victory for Argentina.

Croatia’s elimination at the hands of Argentina proves the last the world would ever see of Luka Modric who was by far Croatia’s best on the night.