Iran coach blasts FIFA’s replay system

Iran coach Carlos Queiroz was so furious with the World Cup’s video assistant referee system that he ranted for more than 20 minutes about FIFA’s new tool following a draw with Portugal that knocked his squad out of the tournament.

“I’m not talking about the ref, talking about one system,” Queiroz said in English. “Thousands of dollars, five guys sitting upstairs and they don’t see an elbow? Give me a break.”

Queiroz was angered that Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo was not issued a red card when his elbow struck Iran defender Morteza Pouraliganji in the face. Ronaldo had aggressively initiated contact from behind on the play.

The Iranians already felt VAR had robbed them when a goal was overturned by the new review process for offside in a 1-0 loss to Spain. The day before Monday night’s Group B finale between Iran and Portugal, Queiroz said he supported the video review for obvious mistakes. But he made it clear he was against its overuse in this tournament to address debatable judgment calls.

Queiroz said coaches also must be kept informed in real time — or be able to see the replays themselves — as plays are being reviewed.

Portugal’s sleep disrupted: Hundreds of Iranian fans surrounded the hotel where Portugal’s national team is based, making loud noises for several hours overnight in an attempt to disrupt their opponents’ sleep before a decisive World Cup match later Monday.

Superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was filmed by Portuguese TV RTP late at night by the window using gestures to ask the Iranian fans to be silent, but Monday morning there were still a few dozen of them playing loud music near the hotel in the center of Saransk, Russia.

3 Swiss players fined: FIFA has fined three Switzerland players for making hand gestures of an Albanian national symbol to celebrate World Cup goals against Serbia, but cleared them to continue playing.

Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri received a warning and a fine of $10,100 for unsporting behavior, in a judgment by FIFA’s disciplinary panel. Switzerland captain Stephan Lichtsteiner was warned and fined $5,050.

Xhaka and Shaqiri made hand gestures of a two-headed eagle after scoring second-half goals, and Lichtsteiner joined in the celebration.

The two goal scorers have ethnic Albanian heritage linked to Kosovo, a former Serbian province that declared independence in 2008. Serbia doesn’t recognize that independence.