FRANCE CHEERS, CROATIA JEERS
Questionable officiating tarnishes otherwise entertaining World Cup final
Piercing whistles reverberated off the roof inside Luzhniki Stadium after referee Nestor Pitana inexplicably stopped a promising Croatian attack.
Mario Mandzukic displayed a gesture of encouragement toward the roughly 10,000 Croats who voiced their displeasure at the Argentinian referee’s performance up until that point.
It was bizarre to see a player egging on the vitriol. Whether their anger was justified is down to interpretation, which side you’re on, or how one views the Laws of the Game.
Pitana, though, has to live with these controversial decisions, two of which played a massive part in France claiming its second World Cup title in a 4-2 win Sunday night over the Checkered Ones.
He’ll look back on Sunday’s final here in Moscow and see he shouldn’t have awarded French striker Antoine Griezmann the first-half free kick that led to Mandzukic’s own goal. Griezmann’s play-acting, his ability to trick Pitana into whistling a foul Croatia’s players vehemently protested, completely flipped the script after the Croats started so brightly.
It was the wrong decision, a decision Croatian supporters will point to as, perhaps, one of the moments that saw them taste defeat for the first time at this World Cup.
The other arrived 10 minutes after Ivan Perisic provided Croatia hope through a screaming half-volley that bulged the net in front of French supporters. It seemed like justice after the French had unjustly gone in front. In that moment, with things all square, it seemed like it was Croatia’s chance to move beyond an early call; it seemed like Pitana’s reprieve.
But the Argentinian official couldn’t escape controversy that will follow him for the rest of his life. A flicked-on corner minutes before halftime struck Perisic’s hand.
Les Bleus’ appeals swayed a video assistant referee ( VAR) to advise Pitana an error had been made after he’d originally decided against awarding a penalty. But the conversation surrounding whether it was or wasn’t shouldn’t interest those on either side of the debate. The question — as stated in the Laws — is whether a “clear” or “obvious” error was made.
The VAR shouldn’t have advised Pitana to review a play that was, at best, a borderline handball. The Argentinian official would have been wise to simply affirm his original decision. Now he’s every referee’s worst nightmare: A major talking point after a major final in which his decisions undeniably altered the momentum one team had. “I never comment on refereeing,” Croatian coach Zlatko Dalic offered post-game. He did, however, have one thing to say: “In a World Cup final, you do not give such a penalty. But it in no way diminishes France’s win.” In other words, Croatia wasn’t necessarily robbed of anything here in Moscow. The Vatreni still conceded four times in the highest-scoring World Cup final since 1966.
It was a final that bucked the seemingly endless trend of championship tilts being monotonous affairs, void of goals and drama.
In any other World Cup final, French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris might have been branded for life after conceding in the manner he did. But Lloris’ mistake, leading to Mandzukic’s other fluky goal, won’t be remembered beyond these pages. He was spotted laughing with teammates postgame as match highlights were being played back inside Luzhniki.
What this final will be remembered for is Paul Pogba’s performance and Kylian Mbappe becoming the first teenager to score in a World Cup final since Brazilian great Pele. Pogba’s game-clinching goal capped a tremendous tournament from a player who entered this World Cup with an insatiable hunger to prove he’s one of the best in the world. Mbappe leaves this World Cup having been anointed the best young player since Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
It’s a matter of time before he’s considered the most exciting player on the planet, if he already isn’t.
Les Bleus also avoided an unwanted designation: The only team to drop consecutive European and World Cup finals. Instead, they’ll arrive in Paris Monday afternoon to the country’s warmest reception in two decades. “France is the world champion. It means we did things better than the others,” French coach Didier Deschamps said. As you know, I had a very, very young group. Fourteen of them were on a discovery journey at the World Cup.
“But the quality was there. That was it. My greatest source of pride with this group is they managed to have the right state of mind for such a tournament.” Les Bleus were never really in trouble, either. A straightforward group was followed by convincing wins over Argentina, Uruguay and Belgium, en route to this final.
“It’s a (phrase) I’m repeating all the time: Never give up. Never give up anything. … Today we didn’t do everything right, but we do have those mental and psychological qualities which were decisive for this World Cup. “We were able to see that the teams that had the best technical skills did not have enough.” The Germans have been home for two weeks while tournamentfavourite Brazil stumbled at the quarter-final stage. Both sides had the technical quality to win this tournament but were lacking something else: defensive organization, commitment, togetherness, all things this French side boasted.
“So, of course, the question to be asked is always: ‘Is France a beautiful champion?’” Deschamps added.
“Well, we are world champions, and France is going to be on top of the world for the next four years. This is what needs to be remembered first and foremost.” The Croatians will remember things differently.
While Dalic said he told his players to “respect” Sunday’s score line, he also suggested Croatia didn’t have the benefit of luck following two shootout wins at this tournament and an extratime defeat of England. Some will take that to mean the big decisions, the big moments in this final, didn’t go Croatia’s way. They’re left wondering if Pitana will look back and feel the same way.